White House responds to abortion pill blowback: ‘Not an endorsement’
The White House on Friday defended the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of a second generic version of the abortion drug mifepristone, but said it shouldn’t be interpreted as an endorsement of the drug.
The decision, made quietly before the government shutdown, means there are now three companies in the U.S. making mifepristone. It has drawn sharp condemnation from conservative lawmakers and anti-abortion advocates, who have been pressing the Trump administration to curtail access.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said FDA was legally required to approve the drug.
“It’s not an endorsement of this drug by any means. They are just simply following the law,” Leavitt told reporters. “By law, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services must approve a generic drug application if the application demonstrates the drug is the ‘same’ as the brand-name drug.”
Mifepristone is one of the two medications used in most U.S. abortions. Manufacturer Evita Solutions first applied for approval in 2021, according to FDA’s approval letter, and it was granted earlier this week.
The FDA wrote that the company’s mifepristone tablets were “therapeutically equivalent” to the brand-name version, Mifeprex, which has been available in the U.S. since 2000.
FDA approvals are meant to be rooted in science and independent of political bias. They are conducted by scientists and other experts and involve technical and often lengthy discussions with the drug’s sponsor.
Still, the decision drew criticism from conservative lawmakers and anti-abortion groups.
“FDA had promised to do a top-to-bottom safety review of the chemical abortion drug, but instead they’ve just greenlighted new versions of it for distribution. I have lost confidence in the leadership at FDA,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) wrote on social media platform X on Thursday.
“I fully support President Trump’s Pro-Life, Pro-Family agenda, but the FDA approving one more tool to kill babies is a betrayal,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) wrote in wrote on the social platform X.
“This is not what Commissioner Makary and Secretary Kennedy indicated they would do in their confirmation hearings,” he added, referring to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.