WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will hear arguments this term regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s decisions in 2016 and 2021 to loosen regulations of the abortion drug mifepristone and whether the challengers have standing to bring their case.

“Today’s decision means the Court will hear about the dangers of the abortion drug combination,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “We hope that the justices will reconsider the approval of this dangerous drug or at least reinstate the long-standing safety protocols.”

“The Biden Administration has promoted unlimited abortion since Day 1,” said Tobias. “Bowing to pressure from pro-abortion groups, this administration has worked to make mifepristone widely available, regardless of the dangers to women and the deaths of preborn children.”

The consolidated cases the Court will hear are FDA, et al. v. Alliance Hippocratic Medicine, et al. and Danco Laboratories, L.L.C. v. Alliance Hippocratic Medicine, et al. 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the government agency that tracks the nation’s abortions, approximately 56% of all abortions are done using chemical abortion methods like mifepristone and misoprostol.

Mifepristone is used in combination with misoprostol, a prostaglandin, to cause an abortion. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, leading to the death of the unborn baby, while the second drug, misoprostol, causes powerful, painful uterine contractions to expel the dead or dying baby.

The FDA recently weakened the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) requirements for the drug combination to allow it to be dispensed and even mailed by pharmacies.

“When hundreds of thousands of women take these pills, even a couple of percentage points of women hemorrhaging, dealing with infections, or ectopic pregnancy, means thousands of women desperately seeking emergency treatment, which may or may not be nearby,” said Dr. Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D., director of Education and Research for National Right to Life.

In April 2023, National Right to Life released a white paper Addressing Many of the Myths the Media is Repeating about the FDA’s Approval and Management of Mifeprex (Mifepristone) which can be accessed here.

In September 2023, National Right to Life released a second white paper regarding What the Media Missed in Its Coverage of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision Regarding Mifepristone which addressed many of the issues that will be coming before the Court. That special report can be accessed here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its annual “Abortion Surveillance Report” for the year 2021. The numbers showed an increase in abortions from the 2020 survey.

Relying on reports from health departments across the country, the CDC reported 625,978 abortions for 2021 compared to 620,327 abortions for 2020. While it is an indication of abortion trends, this figure does not provide a complete picture of abortion in the United States. California (the nation’s most populous state), Maryland, New Hampshire, and New Jersey (new to 2021) did not report abortion data to the CDC.

For context, it is important to remember that the numbers released on Wednesday are all from 2021, the year before the U.S. Supreme Court decision in June 2022 that reversed Roe v. Wade.

“During 2021, federal agencies, state, and local governments were just coming out of the pandemic and still concerned about COVID, but these numbers show us that the abortion industry simply plowed ahead promoting their deadly product, destroying more lives of unborn babies every day,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Clearly abortion groups care more about the bottom line than the lives and health of unborn babies or their mothers.”

In 2021, in the reporting areas included in the report, the CDC found an abortion rate of 11.6 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44 years, which is an increase from 2020. The CDC found a ratio of 204 abortions per 1,000 live births, which is an increase from 2020.

“Nevertheless, the pro-life movement is encouraged that abortion numbers have been greatly reduced from a peak of 1.6 million in 1990 and still remain below one million,” said Tobias.

Tobias continued, “Even with the reversal of Roe v. Wade, this report shows us how entrenched the abortion industry is in this country. The pro-life movement recognizes that there is still much work to be done to protect innocent unborn babies and their mothers.”

Tragically, based on Wednesday’s report, the number of chemical abortions performed less than or at 9 weeks gestation has risen to 53%, and another 3% occur at greater than 9 weeks gestation for a total of 56%.

“This report continues to show us that the use of the chemical abortion method has clearly been on the rise,” said Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D., director of Education and Research for National Right to Life. “Until women are told the truth about these painful and dangerous abortifacients, those numbers will probably continue to grow, particularly with the FDA’s recent relaxation of safety standards of the drug and the media’s and industry’s incessant sales campaign.”

Dr. O’Bannon continued, “Promoters of these pills claim high safety and satisfaction rates, but neglect to mention how painful and bloody these abortions are, and how often women taking these pills end up in emergency rooms hemorrhaging, dealing with infections, and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy. Unscreened women getting these pills in the mail may find help hard to find when things begin to go wrong. More women, more babies will surely die.”

Sadly, the CDC also reported six deaths from legal abortion in 2020, the latest year numbers are available.

The full report from the CDC can be found here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON — National Right to Life announced its endorsement of Solicitor General Liz Murrill for Attorney General of Louisiana.

“National Right to Life is pleased to endorse Liz Murrill for Louisiana Attorney General,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Throughout her time in public service, Liz Murrill has demonstrated a deep commitment to the rule of law and to the protection of unborn children and their mothers from unlimited abortion.”

Liz Murrill supports protections for unborn children and their mothers. As Solicitor General, Murrill has defended numerous pro-life measures in state and federal courts, including one such measure before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Liz Murrill was also instrumental in the implementation of Louisiana’s Human Life Protection Act, which went into effect following the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson. In the law’s first year, Louisiana saw a steep decline in the number of abortions. An estimated 6,500 lives were saved, according to one estimate.

In contrast, her opponent Lindsey Cheek calls herself a “fierce advocate” for abortion and has made her opposition to Louisiana’s protections for unborn children and their mothers a focal point of her campaign. In other states, pro-abortion attorneys general have declined to defend protections for unborn children and their mothers in their states when challenged by pro-abortion groups in court.

“On the issue of abortion, Lindsey Cheek is widely out of step with the people of Louisiana,” said Tobias. “Louisianans support commonsense protections for unborn children and their mothers from unlimited abortion. They want an attorney general they can count on to defend the protective measures they have encouraged their elected representatives to pass.”

Liz Murrill is also endorsed by Louisiana Right to Life, the state affiliate of National Right to Life. In 2022, the organization presented Murrill with its Leadership for Life Award.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Representative Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) announced his candidacy for president of the United States.

“Dean Phillips is Biden 2.0, a dyed-in-the-wool pro-abortion Democrat,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Dean Phillips supports unlimited abortion and has supported the most egregious pro-abortion legislation ever offered in Congress.”

Rep. Phillips is a member of the House Pro-Choice Caucus, voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), supports tax-payer funding of abortion, and was endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

WHPA would enshrine into law abortion-on-demand and would overturn existing pro-life laws and prevent new protective laws from being enacted at the state and federal levels. This bill seeks to strip away from elected lawmakers the ability to provide even the most minimal protections for unborn children, at any stage of their pre-natal development.

“It’s unfortunate that Democrats who support reasonable limits on abortion have no candidate to support in the primary,” said Tobias. “Phillips is just as radical on abortion as Biden.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Congressman Mike Johnson (R-La.) was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“National Right to Life congratulates Speaker Mike Johnson,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Speaker Johnson is committed to the right to life, and he will make the right to life and protecting women and their unborn children a priority in Congress.”

Speaker Johnson represents Louisiana’s 4th district. He is a constitutional law attorney widely recognized as a leading defender of the right to life. He has served as vice chair of the House Republican Conference and, as an active champion of pro-life issues, Congressman Johnson has co-sponsored multiple pieces of pro-life legislation and is the lead sponsor of the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act.

“We congratulate Speaker Mike Johnson,” said Ben Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life. “Speaker Johnson has been a strong ally of the pro-life movement and Louisiana Right to Life. Speaker Johnson will be a proudly pro-life Speaker of the House who will protect babies and help moms.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, October 24, the Georgia Supreme Court issued a decision in State of Georgia v. SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective et al. that upholds Georgia’s LIFE Act (also known as the Heartbeat Bill). The LIFE Act was signed into law in 2019 by pro-life Governor Brian Kemp.

“We are forever thankful for the political will shown by Georgia’s pro-life elected officials including Governor Brian Kemp, Senator Ed Setzler, Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson, and Senator Renee Unterman (ret.) who all fought for the LIFE Act’s passage in 2019,” stated Claire Bartlett, executive director of Georgia Life Alliance.

After Georgia’s Heartbeat Bill was upheld by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, SisterSong, Planned Parenthood, and other pro-abortion organizations brought a state constitutional challenge against H.B. 481, Georgia’s Living Infants Fairness & Equality (LIFE) Act. The organizations claimed that when the bill was signed into law in 2019 it violated the U.S. Constitution and the Georgia Constitution’s right to privacy which prohibits “political interference.”

The Georgia Supreme Court determined that the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs was controlling, and that Georgia’s LIFE Act was constitutional.

Today’s decision did not address the claim that the LIFE Act violates the Georgia Constitution through “political interference.” The case has been sent back to the lower court.

“National Right to Life celebrates this victory with our state affiliate, Georgia Life Alliance, and looks forward to the LIFE Act continuing to save thousands of lives,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Steve Scalise (R-La.) was nominated for Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“National Right to Life congratulates Congressman Steve Scalise (R-La.) on his nomination,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Congressman Scalise’s leadership in the House has shown his commitment to the right to life and he has made it clear that advancing the right to life and protecting women and their unborn children will be a priority in Congress.”

In addition to Congressman Scalise, Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) was willing to serve as Speaker of the House.

“We also thank Congressman Jim Jordan for his commitment to the right to life and his work to bring together the GOP Conference,” said Tobias.

Congressman Scalise has a 100% pro-life voting record. It stands in sharp contrast to the extremism of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and pro-abortion Democrats in Congress who have reversed protective pro-life policies and have worked to make unlimited abortion through all nine months of pregnancy the law of the land.

Tobias stated, “We urge the GOP Conference to unite behind Congressman Scalise and to elect him as the next Speaker of the House.”

Congressman Scalise has never wavered in his long-standing commitment to the right to life and the role the federal government has on the abortion issue.

“We congratulate Congressman Scalise on his nomination to Speaker of the House,” said Ben Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life. “Congressman Scalise has been a strong ally of the pro-life movement and Louisiana Right to Life since before he was even elected to the Louisiana State Senate. Republicans can trust that Congressman Scalise will be a proudly pro-life Speaker of the House who will protect babies and help moms.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The World Health Organization declared September 28, 2023, to be the “International Safe Abortion Day.”

“Abortion is never safe for an unborn child and can jeopardize the life of her mother,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Unlimited abortion is contrary to the very idea of safety.”

For years, the World Health Organization, along with the abortion industry, has pushed for unlimited abortion on an international scale—even in countries where clean water and access to basic medical care are unrealized.

Tobias continued, “Pushing abortion on women who need clean water, nutrition, and basic healthcare recklessly ignores real needs in favor of international politics.”

Chemical abortions using mifepristone and misoprostol are often recommended in parts of the world where surgical abortions are unavailable. However, the complications of chemical abortions—which can include severe hemorrhaging—require a medical infrastructure that includes facilities for surgery, access to ultrasound equipment, and the capacity to provide blood transfusions. This level of medical care is often unavailable in the developing world.

“Women need access to basic healthcare, adequate nutrition, and good obstetrical care throughout pregnancy, during delivery, and after birth,” stated Tobias. “Evidence shows that the lack of modern medicine and quality healthcare results in higher maternal mortality.”

In June, National Right to Life and Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Global Outreach (MCCL GO) released new findings on international healthcare needs for the first 1000 days of life during the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The document, 1 to 1000: How to ensure the health and flourishing of women, children, and society, draws attention to the tragic number of maternal deaths, estimated at 287,000 during 2020, with,

[M]ost of them in the developing world and especially in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia. These deaths can be prevented with basic care before, during and after childbirth—including antenatal care and nutrition, skilled birth attendants, emergency obstetric care, sanitation and clean water.

The document, produced by Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life Global Outreach (MCCL GO), a U.N.-accredited non-governmental organization, was released jointly with the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund, a U.N.-accredited non-governmental organization.

The document is available in English and in Spanish.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

State Affiliates of National Right to Life Commended for Their Work as They Prepare for Upcoming Legislative Sessions

WASHINGTON, D.C.— National Right to Life praised the work of its state affiliates and pro-life legislatures for introducing hundreds of pro-life laws this past legislative session—including bills protecting preborn babies after six weeks of pregnancy.

“In the first legislative session post-Dobbs, we saw unprecedented results in our efforts to protect preborn children,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “The pro-life laws passed in legislatures not only provide protections for unborn children but also show that the child in the womb is a welcome member of our society.”

“We thank and praise our state affiliates and pro-life state legislators for their untiring efforts in introducing these laws and seeing many of them pass,” said Tobias.

Tobias continued, “We also thank pro-life governors for signing these bills and state attorneys general who have defended them in the courts.”

State laws that passed this legislative session include bills protecting babies throughout pregnancy including protecting babies after six weeks of pregnancy—with Florida’s law also providing $25 million dollars for pregnancy resources and material support. In addition, Idaho’s HB 242 prevents an abortion—whether surgical or procured using abortion drugs—from being performed on a minor without the knowledge of her parents or guardians. Additionally, states such as Mississippi provide emergency baby drop-offs at emergency services locations.

Many of the laws, including those passed by Florida and West Virginia, include exceptions in circumstances such as life of the mother, rape, incest, and medical emergencies.

“The laws passed in these states will protect many more babies than would have been possible before the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs,” stated Tobias.

In Dobbs, the question before the Court was whether all prohibitions on abortions performed pre-viability were unconstitutional. Ninety-five percent (95%) of all abortions occur before 15 weeks. The earliest known surviving premature infant was born at 21 weeks and one-day gestation.

“The laws passed in this last legislative session are in deep contrast to laws being pushed by pro-abortion groups and their Democratic supporters in Congress, state legislatures, and the Biden-Harris Administration,” stated Tobias. “The Biden-Harris Administration and the Democratic Party have an extreme pro-abortion agenda that is out of step with the majority of Americans.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Thursday, September 14, Vice President Kamala Harris began her tour of colleges and universities to promote the administration’s priorities which include unlimited abortion.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have made unlimited abortion throughout pregnancy a priority issue,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “With the Biden-Harris Administration, Big Abortion has had a golden ticket letting them fulfill an ever-growing wish list.”

Since its early days, the Biden-Harris Administration prioritized a radical abortion agenda: unlimited abortions for any reason, even as a method of family planning and even late in pregnancy—right up until birth—and using tax dollars to pay for it. The Biden-Harris Administration employed a whole-of-government approach to promoting abortion, using every lever of power at its disposal to make abortions more available and more common, with no thought of the innocent unborn children who would die.

In a recent interview on Face the Nation, CBS’s Margaret Brennan repeatedly asked Kamala Harris up to what point in pregnancy did she no longer support abortion. Harris never answered the question.

“The Biden-Harris abortion agenda is extreme and out of step with the majority of Americans,” said Tobias. “The administration’s tone-deaf response on the issue shows once again just how extreme Democrats are.”

Joe Biden’s presidential record on abortion can be found here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Tuesday, September 12, National Right to Life released a white paper challenging the media coverage of the decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in August.

In its decision, the Fifth Circuit determined that when the FDA loosened regulations in 2016 and 2021 regarding the drug mifepristone, it did so unlawfully, failing to give adequate consideration to demonstrated safety issues with the drug. The decision will not impact the distribution of the abortion drug Mifeprex (generic: mifepristone) until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in.

“While most reporters accurately reported the recent decision by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, they generally failed to report the legal reasoning and medical evidence backing this decision, making it appear to be simply one more volley in a long-running political controversy,” stated Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D. director of education and research for National Right to Life and author of the white paper. “Anyone taking the time to read the decision can see that the court had ample reason to rein in the FDA.”

O’Bannon continued, “It is clear from the decision that the FDA put abortion politics over medical science and the interests of women.”

In his analysis of the court decision, Dr. O’Bannon reviews the original protocols put in place when mifepristone was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration. However, the FDA, bowing to pressure from pro-abortion groups, loosened the rules governing the use and distribution of the drug. Dr. O’Bannon notes that the Fifth Circuit:

• Found that there was harm to both patients and the doctors who had to treat them.
• Used the FDA’s own data against it.
• Made it clear that the courts, by law, have the duty to question FDA decisions when the agency fails to follow its procedures and ignores evidence of safety issues.
• Found that the FDA violated its statutory obligations.
• Found that the FDA failed to collect data on the collective impact of all the protocol changes it proposed in 2016.
• Criticized the FDA for using a lack of data—that the agency itself failed to collect—to justify dropping safeguards.

“Most reporters failed to read the decision and reported only the result,” stated O’Bannon. “But the court’s decision was firmly grounded in the FDA’s actions and the agency’s failure to abide by its own rules and regulations.”

Mifepristone is used in combination with misoprostol, a prostaglandin, to cause an abortion. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, leading to the death of the unborn baby, while the second drug, misoprostol, causes powerful, painful uterine contractions to expel the dead or dying baby.

FDA records include more than two dozen deaths and thousands of complications associated with the use of the mifepristone/misoprostol chemical abortion method. Thousands of “adverse events” are on record with the FDA and include serious infections, severe hemorrhaging, and the rupture of previously undiscovered ectopic pregnancies.

What the Media Missed in Its Coverage of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision Regarding Mifepristone can be accessed here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Oregon Right to Life (ORTL), the state affiliate of National Right to Life, sued for relief from Oregon’s requirement that employee health insurance plans provide coverage for abortion.

“As a pro-life organization, no one questions that we hold deep moral objections to abortion,” said ORTL executive director Lois Anderson. “We are only asking for what every American expects, to be free to live according to our conscience and operate our organization according to our sincerely held belief that unborn human beings deserve protection from the violence of abortion.”

The requirement was part of Oregon’s 2017 Reproductive Health Equity Act (“RHEA”). The RHEA is like California’s abortion-coverage mandate which federal courts recently held violates the religious liberty of objecting churches under the Supreme Court’s Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021) decision.

In Fulton, the Supreme Court determined that if the government allows exceptions to laws burdening religious belief, the government must show a “compelling” reason for not allowing exceptions for religious objectors. In Fulton and the California church cases, the courts held that there was no compelling reason to deny exceptions for the religious objectors.

James Bopp, Jr., general counsel for National Right to Life and counsel for ORTL, says: “Forcing pro-life Oregon Right to Life to fund abortion insurance is outrageous. Legislative testimony made ORTL and its opposition known to the legislature, but it didn’t care. Fortunately, the First Amendment protects ORTL. ORTL should get an exception from Oregon’s abortion-insurance mandate just as California churches recently got one from California’s abortion-insurance mandate.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Late yesterday, the U.S. District Court Judge Robert C. Chambers issued a decision GenBioPro, Inc. v. Sorsaia. In the lawsuit, GenBioPro, a chemical abortion drug manufacturer, challenged West Virginia’s Unborn Child Protection Act claiming that it should be found unconstitutional on the basis that Congress gave the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority over state laws regarding access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in a chemical abortion.

Judge Chambers rejected the claim, writing:

There is no disputing that health, medicine, and medical licensure are traditional areas of state authority. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the FDCA [Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act] does not preempt state action in the field of healthcare or medicine, absent a direct conflict.

Yesterday’s decision follows the August 16 decision by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which determined that when the FDA loosened regulations in 2016 and 2021 regarding the drug mifepristone, it did so unlawfully, failing to give adequate consideration to demonstrated safety issues with the drug.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision will not impact the distribution of the abortion drug Mifeprex (generic: mifepristone) until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in.

“Yesterday’s District Court decision in West Virginia respects the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs and affirms a state’s right to protect life,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.

“The plaintiff’s argument that the FDA’s authority extends so broadly as to circumvent state law is an overreach,” stated James Bopp, Jr., general counsel for National Right to Life. “The District Court rightly affirmed that a state’s rights cannot be upended by a capricious interpretation of the law.”

In yesterday’s decision, Judge Chambers left open the challenge by GenBioPro regarding telehealth abortions.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, the research organization affiliated with the abortion industry, approximately 54% of all abortions are done using chemical abortion methods like mifepristone and misoprostol.

Mifepristone is used in combination with misoprostol, a prostaglandin, to cause an abortion. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, leading to the death of the unborn baby, while the second drug, misoprostol, causes powerful, painful uterine contractions to expel the dead or dying baby.

The FDA recently weakened the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) requirements for the drug to allow it to be dispensed and even mailed by pharmacies.

Myths regarding mifepristone are addressed in a white paper National Right to Life released on April 5. Addressing Many of the Myths the Media is Repeating about the FDA’s Approval and Management of Mifeprex (Mifepristone) can be accessed here.

The decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Of West Virginia can be accessed here.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

In Contrast with the Biden/Harris Administration Which Promotes Unlimited Abortion

WASHINGTON – During tonight’s debate, several of the presidential candidates for the Republican Party spoke about the right to life.

“Tonight’s candidates showed that the right to life is at the heart of the Republican Party,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “This is in direct contrast to the Biden/Harris Administration and the pro-abortion Democrats in Congress who want unlimited abortion.”

President Joe Biden, Vice President Harris, and their administration have aggressively promoted abortion without limits. Since entering office, President Biden has become the most pro-abortion president in history, using a whole-of-government approach promoting unlimited abortion.

“The Biden/Harris Administration and the Democratic Party have yet to hear of an abortion they wouldn’t support,” said Tobias. “Tragically, women and their unborn babies are the ones to suffer.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and more than 3,000 local chapters, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. Recognized as the flagship of the pro-life movement, National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.