Dem
47
GOP
53
During his campaign, Donald Trump was very careful not to talk about abortion, saying it should be up to the states. Saying he wanted to ban it would have infuriated his base. Saying abortion was fine with him and that some of his best female friends have had one or two would have caused some women who were with him on affordability to switch sides. He even went as far as saying if Congress passed a bill to ban abortions nationwide he would veto it.
But the anti-abortion forces in his base are very unhappy about this standpoint. They understand that he will indeed not sign a bill enacting a nationwide abortion ban, so they are trying something else. They now want the FDA, which is part of Robert Kennedy Jr.'s kingdom, to review (and hopefully cancel) the approval of Mifepristone. That wouldn't stop surgical abortions, but since getting a surgical abortion would require out-of-state travel and much greater expense than taking a pill, it would indeed force many women to carry fetuses they don't want to term.
Is there a medical reason for reviewing mifepristone? No. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine maintain that mifepristone is safe and works well. Is there a religious reason to decertify it? Sure, if you don't mind a couple of far-right religious groups forcing their will on the rest of the country.
In June, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary told Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) that he would review the safety of mifepristone. So far, he hasn't done it. The Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America group is demanding Makary's head on a pike. Since Kennedy hasn't done that yet, they are now demanding Kennedy's head on a pike next to Makary's. So far, Trump has not intervened. He probably senses that banning mifepristone would cause the Republicans to lose 50 seats in the House next year. He doesn't have to run for election ever again, so he can afford to ignore part of his base if they are getting to be a problem. Liz Mair, a Republican strategist who calls herself anti-Roe pro-choice, summed up the situation by saying the anti-abortion forces are the cheapest dates in all of American politics. All a politician has to say is that he is pro-life. Then they are happy. The politician can later find 1,000 reasons why he can't actually do anything right now, but never mind, he is pro-life. (V)