WASHINGTON -- Tomorrow at 10am EST, the U.S. Senate will vote on the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf for Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Califf held this position under Obama and under Califf's leadership, the FDA gutted the safety and reporting restrictions on chemical abortion. During that time, the FDA expanded the use of chemical abortion from 7 weeks gestation to 10 weeks and increased the dosage of abortion-inducing drugs. Califf also authorized eliminating mandated reporting of all complications from chemical abortion except maternal death.
Chemical abortions now account for nearly half of all abortions. Women are now able to obtain chemical abortions without a single in-person consultation and can order the drugs online.
Life Legal has made hundreds of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking information on chemical abortion deaths and other complications. We have thus far received dozens of reports of deaths related to abortion-inducing drugs. In several cases, the reports show that women contacted their abortionists to report complications such as severe cramping, vomiting, chills, and profuse bleeding and were told that these were "normal" side effects of chemical abortion. The women later died.
We also have reports of babies who survived the initial attempt to abort them, but developed fatal complications later in the pregnancy. The FDA does not consider these to be adverse events from abortion drugs.
Pro-aborts are pushing for even more lax requirements on what they call "medication abortion." This is a gross misnomer, as drugs that have a nearly 100% mortality rate cannot be termed "medication." They want to completely do away with the FDA's remaining restrictions on abortion drugs and are counting on Califf to carry out their demands.
"As it stands now, chemical abortions are underregulated and adverse events are critically underreported," noted Life Legal CEO Alexandra Snyder. "For any incoming FDA Commissioner to do the bidding of abortion extremists by removing the few remaining safeguards is unconscionable."
Life Legal, in collaboration with other pro-life organizations, strongly urges the Senate to vote NO on the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf for FDA Commissioner. You can read our opposition letter here.
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