Ted Meehan: Senator McCormick’s stand on mifepristone is a step toward greater safety
In the ongoing debate over abortion policy, moments of clarity are rare. They occur when leaders prioritize evidence and compassion over ideology.
U.S. Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania has taken such a step. He joined 51 Republican senators in signing an October 10 letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, led by Senators Katie Britt and Lindsey Graham.
The letter calls on the FDA to suspend approvals for new generic versions of mifepristone, the chemical abortion drug. It urges a thorough safety review, citing mounting evidence of health risks and inadequate oversight. The senators emphasize that women’s safety must not be sacrificed on the altar of expediency.
To understand the significance of this action, it helps to recall how mifepristone came to this point. The FDA first approved the drug in 2000 under the brand name Mifeprex, for use up to seven weeks of pregnancy in supervised clinical settings.
Mifepristone blocks progesterone, a hormone essential for maintaining pregnancy. This halts fetal development, and a second drug, misoprostol, induces contractions to expel the fetus.
Over time, the FDA has steadily loosened these safeguards. In 2016, the gestational limit was extended to 10 weeks, and the requirement for in-person dispensing was relaxed.
Then, in 2021, the Biden Administration removed clinic visit requirements altogether, allowing mail-order distribution and self-administered abortions at home. These steps — framed as expanding access — also dismantled safeguards meant to catch complications such as ectopic pregnancies or Rh incompatibility.
Today, mifepristone accounts for 63 percent of all U.S. abortions, up from 53 percent just three years ago, according to the Guttmacher Institute. More than 7.5 million women have used the regimen since its introduction.
Supporters highlight its convenience and claim success rates above 95 percent. Yet independent analyses reveal higher complication rates, particularly when used outside clinical supervision.
A 2017–2021 insurance study found that 10.2 percent of women experienced serious complications within 30 days—far greater than the less than 1 percent often cited by clinics. These include severe bleeding, infections, and incomplete abortions requiring surgical intervention.
The FDA itself acknowledges 36 deaths linked to mifepristone as of December 2024, though critics say the number is likely higher due to underreporting.
A 2025 Charlotte Lozier Institute analysis found emergency room visits rose 20 percent since 2021, and a 2024 Journal of Women’s Health study connected the regimen to a 15 percent increase in postpartum depression diagnoses.
In Pennsylvania, the numbers are equally concerning. Of more than 35,000 abortions in 2023, 56 percent were medication-induced. In rural areas, where hospitals are sparse, women face heightened risks when complications arise.
Stories from our state are sobering — a young mother in Pittsburgh experiencing uncontrolled bleeding alone at home, or a college student in State College hospitalized for infection after taking the pills without medical follow-up.
Despite these dangers, on September 30, 2025, the FDA approved a new generic version of mifepristone, just days before McCormick and his colleagues sent their letter. This move further expands distribution of a drug already under scrutiny.
The senators’ letter requests a pause on new approvals until a full review can examine long-term data, including the rise in ER visits now exceeding 10,000 annually, according to CDC figures. It also calls for restoring in-person consultations and mandatory ultrasounds, which reduce adverse outcomes by up to 40 percent, according to a 2023 meta-analysis in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
McCormick’s leadership reflects his consistent principles. During his 2024 campaign, he pledged to defend life while protecting women’s health. He supported the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, efforts to defund abortion providers, and measures like the Healthy Moms and Babies Act to expand prenatal care.
Since taking office, McCormick has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation to strengthen adverse drug event reporting, a critical step toward accountability for high-risk medications like mifepristone.
In a Senate often mired in gridlock, his work stands out for focusing on data, not division. He is showing that concern for women’s safety and protection for unborn children are not competing values—they are complementary responsibilities.
By pressing the FDA for transparency, McCormick is helping restore public trust in regulatory agencies. As he and other senators point out, a temporary halt to new generics is not a rollback — it’s a reset.
It would allow time to collect unbiased data, reassess risks, and ensure that no woman faces life-threatening complications because oversight was sacrificed for political convenience.
McCormick’s stand exemplifies what principled leadership looks like — fact-based, compassionate, and courageous. It reminds us that progress in the pro-life cause comes not from shouting matches, but from deliberate, careful action.
This effort is one such step: a bridge between policy and principle, between health and humanity.
