Hawley’s push to revoke abortion pill approval picks up steam

Hawley’s push to revoke abortion pill approval picks up steam

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has picked up three Republican allies in his endeavor to revoke approval of the abortion pill mifepristone. 

Earlier this month, Hawley introduced a bill titled the “Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act” that would ban the sale of mifepristone for use in abortions while still allowing it to be prescribed to treat Cushing’s syndrome, a rare disorder associated with high cortisol levels for prolonged periods of time.

GOP Sens. John Cornyn (Texas), Ted Budd (N.C.) and Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.) have since put their support behind the bill.

Hawley urged Republican senators to support the bill in a “Dear Colleague,” warning that if Congress fails to act, “mifepristone will continue to expose increasing numbers of American women to severe risks.” 

He said that the Obama and Biden administration stripped away safety guidelines that the FDA put in place when the drug was first approved under the Clinton administration in 2000. 

The FDA approved a second generic mifepristone pill in October, making it more accessible. 

“Mifepristone can now be shipped through the mail with the click of a button. Today the drug accounts for 70 percent of abortions in the United States, and at least 7.5 million women in the country have taken it since it was approved in 2000,” Hawley wrote in his letter, adding that the widespread availability of mifepristone has undermined the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case establishing the nationwide right to an abortion. 

Read more from The Hill’s Alex Bolton. 

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How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:

Hawley bill to end FDA approval mifepristone picks up Senate GOP support

Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) bill to revoke the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the drug mifepristone for use in terminating pregnancies is picking up Senate Republican support, as the push to stop its shipment across state lines is becoming a top priority of the anti-abortion movement.   Hawley’s bill, which would make distributing and labeling mifepristone for abortions a violation of the Food, Drug and …

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A bipartisan quartet of of senators on Wednesday unveiled legislation to cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for patients on private insurance. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced the Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act, which would limit out-of-pocket costs for people with diabetes by waiving any deductibles …

Fewer people traveled for abortions as telehealth went up: report

A new report from the reproductive health nonprofit The Guttmacher Institute found that fewer people are traveling from states with total abortion bans to access abortion services, while the rate of telehealth use for at-home abortions has gone up. In the years following the 2022 Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court, overturning Roe v. Wade, travel across state lines for abortions has gone down. In 2023, about 170,000 people …

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Local and state headlines on health care:

6 providers at MaineHealth will serve on national ‘street medicine’ council (Maine Public) 

Medicare billing snafu brings new financial woes to Minnesota rural hospitals (MPR News) 

How outlawing flavored tobacco saved Massachusetts $70 million in health care costs (WGBH) 

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

Bhattacharya addresses CDC director role, works to bolster staff morale in first all-hands meeting (Stat) 

Doctors worry about FDA scrutiny of RSV shots to protect babies (NPR) 

UK meningitis outbreak may worsen, health security agency warns (Bloomberg) 

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