Trump White House Archived / Flickr (Left), Adobe Stock (Right)
Analysis
CV NEWS FEED // President-elect Donald Trump recently stated on Meet the Press that he would not, at least initially, act to restrict access to abortion pills upon taking office. However, he left open the possibility of future changes.
“I’ll probably stay with exactly what I’ve been saying for the last two years. And the answer is no,” Trump said. However, he added, “Things change. I think they change… But I don’t think it’s going to change at all.”
Responding to these remarks, CatholicVote President Brian Burch said, “President Trump said Sunday that while he will not act immediately to restrict or regulate dangerous abortion drugs, he admitted that ‘things do change,’ signaling that he would be open to addressing the overwhelming body of evidence that shows how harmful these drugs are to women.”
Noting that protocols that were bypassed when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the abortion pill, Burch continued, “Big Pharma has exploited far too many women for too long, and the abortion industry should not get a pass when it comes to drug protocols and evidence-based regulations.”
>> ANNUAL ABORTION RATE INCREASED SINCE DOBBS, NOW OVER ONE MILLION UNBORN DEAD YEARLY <<
“Given President Trump’s pro-life record, together with the personnel he has nominated to key positions, we remain hopeful the new administration will take a serious look at these drugs and act accordingly,” Burch said.
Trump’s strong pro-life track record, which includes appointing three Supreme Court justices who played key roles in overturning Roe v. Wade, has raised hopes among pro-life advocates that his administration will address the harms of abortion pills, which account for up to 63% of abortions nationwide. Significantly, Trump nominated Dr. Marty Makary as head of the FDA.
Makary, a pro-life physician and surgical oncologist at Johns Hopkins University, has been a vocal critic of abortion. In a 2022 Fox News interview, he highlighted how fetuses as early as 15 weeks can feel pain and actively resist abortion instruments.
“If you see the actual images of what’s happening and a baby resisting an abortion, it’ll weigh on your conscience,” he said.
Drawing attention to the contradictory approaches within medicine, Makary noted that the same unborn child who receives life-saving surgery in one setting may be subjected to violent abortion methods in another.
>> TRUMP’S FDA APPOINTMENT IS PRO-LIFE <<
Makary’s appointment signals a potential shift in FDA policies. Pro-life advocates hope his leadership will lead to the reversal of the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, the mail-order abortion pill. The drug’s minimal regulatory oversight has prompted legal challenges, including a revised lawsuit by the attorneys general of Missouri, Idaho, and Kansas in October 2024. The lawsuit seeks to reverse FDA actions that enabled widespread distribution of the pill without adequate medical supervision.
The American Life League (ALL) has praised these legal efforts, calling mifepristone part of a “deadly abortion pill drug cartel” that exploits women and takes innocent lives. In a news release, ALL National Director Katie Brown expressed hope that these lawsuits would expose the abortion pill as a “barbaric practice” and hold its manufacturers and distributors accountable. ALL vice president Hugh Brown encouraged every state attorney general to review the ALL report, Beneath the Surface: Exposing the Abortion Pill Drug Cartel and join the lawsuit.
Trump’s appointments and the ongoing legal challenges offer a significant opportunity for the pro-life movement to address the dangers of chemical abortion. As the administration takes shape, advocates remain hopeful that these steps will lead to stronger protections for women and the unborn, reflecting the administration’s commitment to pro-life principles.
