Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri unveiled legislation Wednesday to ban the chemical abortion drug mifepristone, one of two drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration for medication abortions.
In a news conference that included testimony from women who reported harm from the drug, Hawley stated: “It is time for Congress to ban the use of mifepristone for abortion. And it is time for Congress to give the victims, the survivors, many of whom are here today, the right to recover against this company that has inflicted harm on them solely for the purpose of making profits.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute, abortions using mifepristone and misoprostol accounted for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States in 2023.
The FDA, which approved mifepristone in 2000, maintains that the drug “is safe when used as indicated and directed and consistent with the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Program.” However, a report released last year by the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center found that among 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023, nearly 11% of women experienced sepsis, infection, hemorrhage, or another serious adverse event within 45 days. The report noted that this rate was at least 22 times higher than the “less than 0.5%” summary figure listed on the drug’s label.
Hawley emphasized: “Only Congress can address this situation. Only Congress is placed to regulate the flow of interstate drugs. Only Congress can withdraw the FDA’s approval, rendered way back in the Clinton administration, for this drug that has proved to be inherently dangerous and inherently prone to abuse.”
The proposed Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act would revoke FDA approval of mifepristone for abortion use. It would also make distributing or labeling mifepristone for abortion a violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and create a private right of action allowing women harmed by abortion drugs to sue manufacturers for damages.
Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, who introduced similar legislation in January 2025 aimed at restricting mifepristone, voiced support for Hawley’s bill in a news release. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, stated that the legislation would address the use of mifepristone “head on by withdrawing the politicized FDA approval of these dangerous abortion drugs.”
The Supreme Court in 2024 dismissed a lawsuit brought by conservative doctors who argued that mifepristone should be removed from pharmacy shelves nationwide. The court ruled that the challengers lacked standing to sue, without deciding the merits of the dispute.
Mifepristone has faced renewed scrutiny during President Donald Trump’s second term. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated in a 2025 letter that the FDA was conducting a new safety review of the drug and would consider “the latest data.” The review remains ongoing.
Hawley’s legislation comes amid heightened tensions in his home state, as Missourians prepare for a statewide vote in November on a proposed constitutional amendment to repeal the abortion-rights measure approved by voters in 2024 and reinstate broad restrictions.
