This exchange took place Wednesday at a Senate Finance Committee hearing between Sen. Steve Daine and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at which they discussed regulations surrounding the abortion pill.
Sen. Daines on the need to reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement for the abortion pill:
Daines: Back on the issue of safety, I want to go back to my earlier comment, and I want to continue the conversation we had around what HHS is doing to apply the principles of safety for the American people as it relates to the federal regulations on mifepristone. You’ve stated the FDA is conducting a comprehensive safety review, which they are, and I encourage you to see that review through completion guided by the best available data. Some of the evidence we already have today points to some serious real-world consequence as it relates to safety for women. We know about the outcomes to the baby. I’m talking about the outcomes now to women. In fact, there was analysis of over 865,000 mifepristone prescriptions compiled from insurance claims that found that 11 percent of women experienced a serious adverse event. That typically means going to the ER. There is serious medical care required within 45 days of taking mifepristone. That’s 22 times higher than the FDA’s long-standing estimate of less than 0.5 percent. In the first half of 2025, over 27 percent, in fact, of all abortions in the U.S. were chemical abortions, provided by online clinics. Will you implement interim safeguards as well as look at reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement until the full safety review is completed?
Kennedy: Regrettably, Senator Daines, I cannot comment on that because of the litigation.
Daines: Well, I have read that study. And the actual adverse effects are 22 times what the FDA had on the label. And so we want to see action taken because women are being harmed by mifepristone.
