Pro-Life Groups Calling for Immediate Government Action on Abortion Pills

Spearheaded by a pro-life organization known as LiveAction, there have been calls for the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to revisit the approval of abortion pills, which have ramped up this past week, according to Fox News.¹ The group held a press conference Thursday denouncing the pills’ distribution among Planned Parenthood and pro-choice health care providers.

Amid Trump Administration supporters expressing frustrations with the president’s flexible attitudes toward abortion,² pro-life advocacy is ramping up as these pills lead to increased rates of abortion among states that have remained stern within their pro-life stances.³

“For more than 2 decades, mifepristone has remained on the market under an approval process that was politically accelerated, shielded from transparency, and repeatedly expanded without regard for patient safety, adverse event reporting, or statutory compliance,” according to a LiveAction letter to HHS and the FDA.¹

While certainly a politically polarizing subject within health care and women’s health, access to and distribution of medication abortion—including the mifepristone and misoprostol combination⁴—have been a significant focus since the overturning of Roe v Wade in 2022.³

At the current moment, the FDA allows the distribution of mifepristone through its risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) program, offering patients the safest option and access for medication abortion when compared with other platforms that dispense the pill.¹

Announced back in October of 2025, the FDA is still in the process of reassessing mifepristone and the reported adverse effects associated with the drug. Although results from this process have yet to be announced, its main function is to further assess whether or not the REMS program is protecting women’s health properly.^1,5

READ MORE: FDA Quietly Approves Generic Mifepristone Tablet for Abortion

A Brief History of Abortion Pills in the US

Currently, the universal approach to medication abortion is through the use of 2 drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone blocks progesterone—the female hormone that facilitates abortion—although misoprostol is an ulcer medication used to then eliminate uterine contents.⁶

Mifepristone, which is the key medication facing backlash from pro-life supporters, was first patented in France in 1980. It was later approved by the FDA in 2000 and has since served as one of the least invasive options for women seeking an abortion. Various recommendations for the pills’ use were updated throughout the 2010s, and a generic version of mifepristone was later approved in 2019.

More recently, as US presidential administrations have bounced back and forth from Democratic to Republican leadership, the state of the abortion pills’ access has been in flux.

In 2020, provisions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic allowed abortion pills to be distributed via mail order for the very first time. Then in 2022, Roe v Wade was overturned, giving states back the right to address abortion-related statutes. This has since led the majority of pro-choice states to enact laws protecting the distribution of abortion pills, while mostly pro-life states attempt to do the opposite.⁶

What is Expected Next Based on Continued Advocacy on Both Sides

Now, in 2026, conversations surrounding mifepristone and misoprostol are heating up as experts and lawmakers continue to aim for a better grasp of the Trump Administration’s opinions on abortion.

“There’s definitely some ill feeling,” Patrick Brown, a fellow at a Christian conservative think tank known as the Ethics and Public Policy Center, told AOL.² “Pro-lifers feel the sense that Trump is happy to let them go separate ways. I don’t think the dam is going to break by any means, but I do think that you’re starting to see a little bit more independence from congressmen and senators who do need to think about reelection, and who are concerned about 2026 or 2028.”

In the meantime, groups like LiveAction are raising red flags in regard to the abortion pill, with conservative-led reports stating that close to 11% of women who take mifepristone experience adverse effects. The group also released a video questioning the processes of Planned Parenthood and their distribution of these drugs.¹

Planned Parenthood offered its rebuttal as medication abortion becomes a much more prominent issue among women and lawmakers alike. Although the FDA’s various investigations are still ongoing, there are minimal events in recent history that may inform the future of mifepristone access. For the time being, experts can only expect these conversations to reach more eyes amongst the public—and more lawmakers’ desks—as the political state of the US is further polarized.

“Mifepristone is safe, legal, and has been used by more than 7.5 million people for abortion and miscarriage care since its approval by the FDA 25 years ago,” concluded Danika Severino, vice president of care and access with Planned Parenthood, according to Fox News. “Despite 25 years of data and more than 100 peer-reviewed studies proving mifepristone is extremely safe and effective, anti-abortion activists continue to spread disinformation to advance their harmful political agenda.”

READ MORE: Women’s Health Resource Center

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REFERENCES

1. Wolf R. Pro-life organization calls on HHS and FDA to suspend abortion pill approval, tighten safety rules. Fox News. January 22, 2026. Accessed January 23, 2026. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pro-life-organization-calls-hhs-fda-suspend-abortion-pill-approval-tighten-safety-rules

2. Weixel N. Trump’s “flexible” abortion stance frustrates key GOP bloc. AOL. January 13, 2026. Accessed January 23, 2026. https://www.aol.com/articles/trump-flexible-abortion-stance-frustrates-110000309.html

3. Rovner J. Why medication abortion is the top target for anti-abortion groups in 2026. KFF Health News. January 23, 2026. Accessed January 23, 2026. https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/mifepristone-medication-abortion-pill-trump-fda/

4. The abortion pill. Planned Parenthood. June 17, 2022. Accessed January 23, 2026. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/abortion/the-abortion-pill

5. Szabo L. The abortion pill is safe. Scientists fear an FDA investigation will ignore science. Scientific American. October 30, 2025. Accessed January 23, 2026. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fda-is-investigating-the-abortion-pill-mifepristone-despite-decades-of/

6. Baker CN. The history of abortion pills and how to protect future access. Scholars Strategy Network. April 3, 2025. Accessed January 23, 2026. https://scholars.org/contribution/history-abortion-pills-and-how-protect-future