A group of U.S. senators sent letters on March 25 to three abortion drug manufacturers and the Food and Drug Administration, requesting details about mifepristone products and urging federal action regarding their distribution.
The move comes as debates continue over the safety, regulation, and use of mifepristone—a medication commonly used for first trimester abortions—and amid concerns from pro-life groups about online sales and FDA oversight.
The senators—Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Steve Daines of Montana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina—addressed their inquiries to Evita Solutions, GenBioPro, Danco Laboratories, and the FDA. In a statement accompanying the letters, Cassidy said: “Chemical abortion drug makers profit off killing innocent children while putting mothers’ lives at risk. These manufacturers and websites have facilitated the explosion in online sales of these harmful drugs without regard for women’s health and safety while opening the door for coercion and abuse. FDA should act within its existing authorities to curb this abuse and immediately reinstate safeguards such as the in-person dispensing requirement.”
The letter to the FDA urged it to use “numerous tools at its disposal” to prevent unapproved or misbranded versions of chemical abortion drugs from being marketed online in violation of federal law. The senators cited an existing warning on the agency’s website but called for further action: “While FDA acknowledges the risks of buying chemical abortion drugs online…FDA must do more,” they wrote.
Hyde-Smith said: “Given the potentially life-threatening risks to women, the FDA should take immediate action to fight the sale and distribution of unapproved and misbranded versions of chemical abortion drugs.” She added: “We know that more than 1 in 10 women who take Mifepristone will experience a serious adverse event…Even under proper safety protocols, this drug is sold for the primary purpose of ending life and deserves heightened scrutiny.”
Advocates for mifepristone say it is statistically safe when used as directed; opponents argue there are significant risks especially outside medical settings. Reproductive Freedom for All stated that recent legal efforts against mifepristone are “part of a broader, coordinated effort to ban abortion nationwide.” Approved by the FDA in 2000 for early abortions but also used recently in miscarriage care scenarios considered morally licit by Catholic teaching, mifepristone remains at center stage in national debate.
A Pew Research poll conducted Jan. 20-26 found that 55% supported keeping medication-based abortion legal in their states; another survey cited by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America reported that two-thirds support reinstating requirements for an in-person medical evaluation before receiving mifepristone.
Marjorie Dannenfelser said: “Abortion numbers are up…driven by mail-order drugs flooding states without regard for their laws.” She added: “Abortion drug manufacturers are exploiting…policy that opened floodgates to potent abortion drugs sold online…without any in-person medical evaluation.” According to Guttmacher Institute research referenced here, nearly 1.13 million abortions occurred nationwide during 2025—the highest number since 2009.
After Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade precedent making abortion a constitutional right nationwide, both supporters and opponents have focused renewed attention on access issues like those raised around mifepristone.
