FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2021
Contact: Prudence Robertson, [email protected], 240-672-2828
Payout to Biden’s Political Allies Puts Women & Unborn Children at Risk
Washington, D.C. – The Biden administration today moved to weaken longstanding federal safety regulations against mail-order abortion drugs designed to protect women from serious health risks and potential abuse. The Biden administration policy allows for dangerous at-home, do-it-yourself abortions without necessary medical oversight.
Chemical abortion, sometimes called “the abortion pill” (RU-486 or Mifeprex), is a two-drug regimen taken up to 70 days (10 weeks) or even later into pregnancy and causes the death of the unborn child. The first drug blocks the natural hormone progesterone, starving the developing baby of nutrients, while the second drug induces labor to expel the baby from the womb.
In April the Biden-Harris FDA announced that during the COVID-19 pandemic, it would no longer enforce the in-person doctor visit requirement. Since then, Joe Biden nominated former FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to resume the role. During Califf’s tenure under Barack Obama, he oversaw the limiting of reporting requirements for complications after chemical abortion – obscuring the real dangers of abortion drugs despite evidence they are unsafe.
Ohio, Oklahoma, Montana, Indiana, Arkansas, Arizona and Texas have enacted state-level safeguards against mail-order abortion drugs. At least seven additional states are likely to enact protections in the new year.
SBA List State Policy Director Sue Liebel condemned the move:
“The Biden administration’s reckless move puts countless women and unborn children in danger. Abortion activists’ longtime wish has been to turn every post office and pharmacy into an abortion center. They promote abortion drugs as easy, painless and private. Science says otherwise. Women who take chemical abortion pills are significantly more at risk of serious complications and more likely to require a visit to the emergency room. Some women even die. Already-exhausted ER doctors and nurses will be forced to ‘clean up after’ an abortion industry that puts profits before safety and won’t regulate itself – all to please Biden’s radical base and pay back political allies.
“We thank pro-life leaders at both the state and federal level for fighting to enact commonsense safeguards into law. Legislators nationwide should act urgently to protect vulnerable women and children.”
Tara Sander Lee, Ph.D., senior fellow and director of life sciences at Charlotte Lozier Institute, said:
“Large-scale, peer-reviewed studies show chemical abortion is at least four times riskier for women than surgical abortion. Complications can include severe bleeding, infection, the need for surgical intervention, and in some instances even death. Taking abortion drugs during an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy, for example, can be fatal. No video chat, possibly from hundreds or even thousands of miles away, can replace in-person evaluation by a doctor. That is patient abandonment and an egregious example of playing politics with women’s health and safety.”
A new, first-of-its-kind study authored by Dr. James Studnicki and a team of experts at the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) found that chemical abortion is a major public health threat. The study found that the rate of abortion-related emergency room visits following a chemical abortion increased by more than 500% from 2002 through 2015. By analyzing 423,000 confirmed abortions, CLI scholars also found that the rate of chemical abortion-related ER visits is growing much faster than surgical abortion-related ER visits, and chemical abortion makes subsequent abortions more dangerous.
A separate national study, written in part by CLI scholars, analyzed reported complications from chemical abortions in the U.S. over a 20-year period and found nearly 2,000 “severe” complications, more than 500 life-threatening complications, and more than 20 deaths. The study authors estimated that complications are significantly underreported.
Help is available through the Abortion Pill Rescue Network for women who regret taking the first abortion pill, providing a chance to reverse the effects and save their pregnancies if quick action is taken. Statistics show that the safe, effective abortion pill reversal (APR) protocol has saved more than 2,500 babies.
SBA List is a network of 900,000 pro-life Americans nationwide, dedicated to ending abortion by electing national leaders and advocating for laws that save lives, with a special calling to promote pro-life women leaders.
Charlotte Lozier Institute was launched in 2011 as the education and research arm of Susan B. Anthony List. CLI is a hub for research and public policy analysis on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States and nations around the world. The Institute is named for a feminist physician known for her commitment to the sanctity of human life and equal career and educational opportunities for women.
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