Leaked Letter Demonstrates Undermining of Decades-Worth of Science and Research to Appease Anti-Abortion Movement

Washington, D.C. — A letter from Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary to state attorneys general, made public this week, makes clear that the Trump-Vance administration is initiating a review of the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for mifepristone. 

The safety and efficacy of mifepristone is well established, backed by over 25 years of rigorous scientific research, FDA and regulatory review, and real-world use. This attempt to undermine medication abortion comes at the same time that the anti-science community, emboldened by the President, is pushing junk science to spread misinformation about autism and the use of acetaminophen.

Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman issued the following statement: 

“Yet again, Secretary Kennedy and the Trump-Vance administration are caving to pressure from special interests and endangering our health care. Science should not be political but the Trump-Vance administration continues to choose to ignore decades of scientific research and the career medical and scientific experts at the FDA who have studied and evaluated medications, like mifepristone, for decades. 

“The so-called report Secretary Kennedy cites to justify his actions is an anti-abortion funded effort with significant flaws in methodology and findings. We continue to encourage the federal government to heed medically accurate, peer reviewed, and evidence based approaches to medication regulation and utilize the expertise that has been developed over decades by the non-partisan career civil service. 

“Rolling back updates to the mifepristone REMS program – changes made less than three years ago based on medical evidence and to reduce unnecessary burdens on the health care system – will harm patients, overburden health care professionals, and delay essential care. Democracy Forward remains steadfast in our commitment to defending access to reproductive health care, including reducing barriers to accessing medication abortion. We will pursue every legal avenue available to ensure patients can access evidence-based medical care free from political interference.” 

The letter can be viewed here.

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.