Overview
- At the Jan. 14 Senate HELP Committee hearing, GOP members led by Chair Bill Cassidy urged reinstating in‑person dispensing and tighter controls that would curb telehealth and mail delivery of mifepristone.
- Democrats and medical witness Dr. Nisha Verma defended medication abortion as safe and effective and warned new limits would reduce access, noting it now accounts for more than 60% of U.S. abortions.
- A JAMA paper published Jan. 12, based on 2011–2023 FDA records, reported consistent agency findings on mifepristone’s safety and limited evidence of political interference in staff scientists’ recommendations.
- HHS confirmed an ongoing review of reported adverse events to assess whether the FDA’s current risk‑mitigation program remains appropriate, as Republicans pressed for FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to testify.
- Republican witnesses spotlighted coerced‑abortion cases and state prosecutions, including Louisiana’s failed extradition attempts blocked by shield laws in New York and California, while experts said such incidents are uncommon and contested studies overstated risks.