WASHINGTON — National Right to Life today welcomed the Food and Drug Administration’s announcement that it is moving forward with a comprehensive review of the abortion drug mifepristone and its safety record. According to multiple news reports, the FDA is conducting a large-scale analysis of hundreds of thousands of cases and will examine data related to adverse events and complications associated with the drug.

The following is a statement from Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life:

For years, pro-life advocates, medical professionals, and members of Congress have raised serious concerns about the weakening of safety protections surrounding chemical abortion. We welcome a thorough and transparent review of the evidence.

Each abortion takes the life of a preborn child and places her mother at risk. Women aborting at home are also more likely to be traumatized when they realize that they aborted a living child and not just ‘tissue’ or ‘products of conception’ as the abortion industry claims.

The abortion industry has repeatedly insisted that the safety issues surrounding chemical abortion are settled science. Yet the FDA itself has determined that additional review is appropriate. When the health and safety of women are involved, no legitimate scientific question should be off limits.

Every woman deserves the highest standard of medical care. The FDA has both the authority and the responsibility to act. We encourage the agency to conduct this review with transparency, scientific integrity, and an unwavering commitment to protecting women.

Founded in 1968, the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of affiliates in each of the 50 states, is the nation’s oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect innocent human life from abortion, infanticide, assisted suicide, and euthanasia.