WASHINGTON, D.C.— The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument today regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decisions in 2016 and 2021 to loosen regulations of the abortion drug mifepristone and whether the challengers have standing to bring their case.

“We hope that the justices will reconsider the approval of this dangerous drug or at least reinstate the long-standing safety protocols,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Tragically, every mifepristone abortion takes the life of an unborn baby and places her mother in harm’s way.” 

“Bowing to pressure from the abortion industry, the FDA loosened the safety requirements of mifepristone which still has a black box warning,” said Tobias. “Drugs that come with black box warnings have the most dangerous side effects and safety concerns, yet the FDA is okay with mifepristone being prescribed and even mailed to women without an in-person exam.” 

The consolidated cases the Court heard today 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. In a recent report, the Guttmacher Institute, a research arm of the abortion industry, claimed that this number has risen to 63%.

“Mifepristone abortions by telehealth and third-party online sites are like the Wild West with a network of suppliers who are willing to break the few rules that exist,” said Tobias. “The current Wild West of abortion drug distribution is the direct fault of the Biden Administration and its allies who have pushed for fewer and fewer rules and safety precautions for the abortion drugs.”

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. “The FDA itself warns that these abortion drugs have the potential to send one out of every 25 women to the emergency room.  In studies from other countries that actually track complications, unlike the FDA, the number of women who go to the emergency room after taking these drugs is estimated to be as many as one out of every 10.” 

Dr. O’Bannon addressed the complication rates of mifepristone in the article, Mifepristone Complications Less Than One Percent? The article can be found here.

In September 2023, National Right to Life released a white paper entitled 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 were before the Fifth Circuit and are now before the U.S. Supreme Court. That special report can be accessed here.

A factsheet about the safety and efficacy of mifepristone 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— In recognition of his strong pro-life voting record and commitment to building a culture of life, Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales received the endorsement of National Right to Life, the nation’s oldest and largest pro-life organization. As the Republican Primary in Texas’s 23^rd Congressional District heads to a runoff election on May 28th, National Right to Life reaffirms its support for Gonzales as he seeks a third term.

“Congressman Tony Gonzales is a champion for vulnerable unborn children and their mothers and a valuable ally to the pro-life movement in Congress,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “In the upcoming runoff, we urge voters to cast their ballots for Congressman Gonzales so that he may continue to advocate for policies that respect life and offer support to women and families facing unexpected pregnancies.”

While serving in the U.S. House of Representatives (2021-present), Congressman Gonzales maintained a 100% rating on National Right to Life’s legislative scorecard, voting 25 times in agreement with the position of National Right to Life.

In a press release on March 6, Congressman Gonzales’s opponent inaccurately claimed that Gonzales “voted for taxpayer-funded abortions.” Along with consistent majorities of Americans, Congressman Gonzales opposes using tax dollars to pay for abortions. Congressman Gonzales cosponsored and voted for the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, a bill that would limit taxpayer funding for abortions on a government-wide basis with exceptions when the life of the mother is at risk or in cases of rape, incest, or medical emergency. He has also consistently voted to uphold pro-life appropriations riders like the Hyde Amendment, which has saved an estimated 2.5 million lives since its first adoption in 1976.

Congressman Gonzales voted for the Supporting Pregnant and Parenting Women and Families Act to ensure pregnancy help centers remain eligible for state-directed federal funds through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. He also voted for the Pregnant Students’ Rights Act to strengthen existing requirements for higher education institutions to publicly disclose the rights and resources available to pregnant and parenting students.

Congressman Gonzales voted against the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act, an extreme pro-abortion bill pushed by the Biden-Harris White House and pro-abortion Democrats in Congress that would enshrine unlimited abortion in federal law and eliminate virtually all existing protections for unborn children and their mothers nationwide, including state-level protections like those that protect unborn babies who have detectable heartbeats or those that require that parents are informed before an abortion is performed on their minor daughter.

“With a solid pro-life voting record and proven commitment to building a culture of life, Tony Gonzales is the strongest pro-life candidate in the race for Texas’s 23^rd Congressional District,” said Tobias. “We look forward to re-electing Tony Gonzales and expanding the pro-life majority in the U.S. House in 2024.”

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.

Showcases the Abortion Extremism of the Biden-Harris Administration

WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris, in an unprecedented act, visited a Minnesota abortion facility today.

“Kamala Harris visiting an abortion facility is yet another extreme example of this administration’s obsession with unlimited abortion,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee.

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have made promoting Big Abortion a cornerstone issue of this administration,” Tobias continued. “No other presidential administration has been as focused on promoting abortion as this one.” 

Like most abortion facilities across the country, the one Vice President Harris visited today is not licensed or inspected by the state.

The Biden-Harris Administration has 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. This administration has 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 will die or the mothers who could be harmed.

“Vice President Harris has been a die-hard supporter of unlimited abortion and the abortion industry since the beginning of her political career,” said Tobias. “Today’s visit to an abortion facility comes as no surprise.” 

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates 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, NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

WASHINGTON — During the State of the Union address, President Biden once again committed his administration to supporting abortion extremism.

“President Biden continues to amplify his virulent support of unlimited abortion,” said Carol Tobias, president of the National Right to Life Committee.

“He has engaged in fearmongering that is designed to scare pregnant mothers,” Tobias continued. “This fearmongering is rooted in lies manufactured by Big Abortion in a post-Dobbs propaganda campaign.”

The Biden-Harris Administration has 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. This Administration has 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 will die.

“With all the problems facing this country, President Biden has been almost laser-focused on promoting his support of the abortion industry and the killing of vulnerable preborn babies,” said Tobias. “Ironically, President Biden can talk about preserving maternal health in the same breath as advocating for the destruction of a mother’s unborn baby.”

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of 50 state right-to-life affiliates 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, NRLC works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.

Abortion Pills Will be Available with Prescription

Today, CVS and Walgreens announced that abortion drugs will be available by prescription in select states.

Walgreens announced that it will offer the pills in select pharmacies in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois. A CVS representative said that the company will be offering the pills in all of its pharmacies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

“We are extremely disappointed that the two largest pharmacy chains in the United States are offering abortion drugs,” said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “Mifepristone, the first drug in the two-drug process, was developed to take the life of an unborn child and always has the potential to harm the mother.” 

Continued Tobias, “Sadly, this life-taking drug will now occupy space on shelves next to drugs created to help and not harm patients.”

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument this month 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.

“We hope the justices reconsider the approval of this dangerous drug combination or at the minimum reinstate long-standing safety protocols,” said Tobias. 

“The Biden Administration has promoted unlimited abortion until birth since the first day President Biden entered the White House,” said Tobias. “This administration has worked hand-in-hand with pro-abortion groups to make mifepristone widely available, regardless of the harm it can do to women and their preborn children.”

The consolidated cases the Supreme 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. 

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.

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.

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.

“Even the FDA admits that these drugs will fail or come with complications for a number of women. 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 — Founded in 1968, National Right to Life, the nation’s oldest and largest pro-life organization with affiliates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, has been called the “flagship of the pro-life movement.”

Today, National Right to Life unveiled a new logo and an updated website.

“As we look forward, our new logo retains the elements that represent National Right to Life and our mission but leans into the future as we continue our work to protect all innocent human life from fertilization to natural death,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life.

The original National Right to Life logo, two circles and a flame, represented the organization for over 50 years. It has long been understood that the flame stood for life and the circles represented abortion and euthanasia.

The new logo, a single circle with a flame, retains the meaning of the original logo but has been refreshed for a new era.

“The new logo is streamlined,” stated Tobias. “The flame is the respect for life and our passion for our mission. The circle is the continuum of life. Together, these elements will take us forward into a new era.”

National Right to Life’s website has undergone a redesign as well. Constructed to help visitors find information and facts about the life issues easily and quickly, it can be found at www.nrlc.org.

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, the National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide and euthanasia.