RFK Jr. Orders FDA Review of Abortion Pill Amid Scientific Backlash

Kennedy’s directive followed pointed questioning from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who pressed the secretary to act on a recent report from the Ethics & Public Policy Center. Kennedy confirmed he has instructed FDA Commissioner Marty Makary to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the drug, suggesting that existing labels may require modification. This move has drawn immediate condemnation from reproductive health experts and civil rights organizations, who argue the administration is prioritizing partisan pressure over established medical consensus.

Public health scientist Ushma Upadhyay, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, dismissed the report cited by Hawley as junk science. Her own research, which includes a study of 11,000 medication abortions, shows serious adverse events occur in less than 0.3% of cases. The ACLU and the Center for Reproductive Rights have characterized the FDA review as a calculated attempt to bypass decades of peer-reviewed data. Julia Kaye, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU, warned that the review mirrors strategies outlined in Project 2025, signaling a broader effort to leverage administrative power to restrict abortion access nationwide.

Legal challenges are already mounting in response to the administration's stance. The Center for Reproductive Rights is set to argue in court this coming Monday, seeking to block further restrictions on the medication. Advocates maintain that the administration’s focus on the pill—which has been FDA-approved for 25 years—is a political maneuver that ignores the safety record of one of the most common forms of healthcare in the United States.