Trump DOJ defends Biden’s abortion pill rules despite serious harm to women – LifeSite
Wed May 7, 2025 – 10:47 am EDT
(LifeSiteNews) — Two major stories about the abortion pill broke this month. The first is a bombshell study revealing that a staggering one in ten women will go to the emergency room for follow-up care after taking the abortion pill and that nearly 11 percent of women report suffering “infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious or life-threatening adverse event.”
The second is a move by the Trump Department of Justice, which called on U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho against the abortion pill. The lawsuit was originally filed in Texas by doctors with the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that the doctors did not have standing; in January, Kacsmaryk ruled that the three other states could intervene and file a complaint.
In their petition to the court, the three states made the case that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval and endorsement of the abortion pill as well as its distribution by mail violates their “sovereign” interest in the protection of their citizens. According to the three states: “In rolling back safeguard after safeguard, the FDA has turned a blind spot to the known harms of abortion drugs to the detriment of women and girls.”
It is worth noting that this latest study, released after the three states filed their petition, emphatically buttresses their claim. The abortion pill now makes up 53 percent of abortions across the United States.
Trump’s DOJ is now stating that the three states do not have jurisdiction to file their case in Texas, and that thus it must be dismissed. The DOJ stated in its brief that the case put forward by Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri has “no connection to the Northern District of Texas,” and that “Regardless of the merits of the States’ claims, the States cannot proceed in this Court. The States’ Amended Complaint should be dismissed.”
While the DOJ’s intervention technically takes no position on the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill, Donald Trump emphasized his support for the availability of the abortion pill during his campaign. During the first and only presidential debate with Joe Biden, Trump incorrectly characterized the Supreme Court has having “approved” the abortion pill, and expressed his support: “[T]he Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill, and I agree with their decision to have done that, and I will not block it,” he told Dana Bash.
JD Vance, who has made a series of strong pro-life statements since taking office, seemingly supported Trump’s position in an earlier interview. “On the question of the abortion pill what so many of us have said is look, the Supreme Court made a decision saying that the American people should have access to that medication. Donald Trump has supported that opinion, I support that opinion,” Vance said.
Catholic professor of philosophy Ed Feser commented on the case on X, quoting Politico’s headline and noting: “‘The Trump administration is defending federal regulations allowing abortion pills to be available online and by mail, the Justice Department revealed on Monday.’ Exactly what some of us warned about during the election. These pills are responsible for the majority of abortions.” Feser also noted that “sadly,” Trump appears to be keeping his “campaign promise to preserve access to abortion pills.”
A key test of the Trump administration’s approach to the abortion pill will be its reaction to legislation introduced on May 6 by Senator Josh Hawley to restrict the abortion pill. The Restoring Safeguards for Dangerous Abortion Drugs Act, which cites the recent study highlighting the risks of the pill, would direct the FDA to implement safeguards and give women who have suffered complications the right to sue both telehealth providers and pharmacies, as well as ban foreign companies from mailing abortion pills into the U.S.
“It’s dangerous,” Hawley told Fox News. “The data shows 1 in 10 women who take mifepristone experience adverse health effects, like going to the ER or suffering from sepsis. The FDA needs to act to protect women now.” We will find out soon enough if the Trump administration agrees with him.
Jonathon’s writings have been translated into more than six languages and in addition to LifeSiteNews, has been published in the National Post, National Review, First Things, The Federalist, The American Conservative, The Stream, the Jewish Independent, the Hamilton Spectator, Reformed Perspective Magazine, and LifeNews, among others. He is a contributing editor to The European Conservative.
His insights have been featured on CTV, Global News, and the CBC, as well as over twenty radio stations. He regularly speaks on a variety of social issues at universities, high schools, churches, and other functions in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
He is the author of The Culture War, Seeing is Believing: Why Our Culture Must Face the Victims of Abortion, Patriots: The Untold Story of Ireland’s Pro-Life Movement, Prairie Lion: The Life and Times of Ted Byfield, and co-author of A Guide to Discussing Assisted Suicide with Blaise Alleyne.
Jonathon serves as the communications director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform.
