‘Crazy’ to consider abortion pill crackdown, says Sen. Mark Warner; Mike Pence wants mifepristone taken off market

Democrats continued to decry the prospect of women losing access to the widely used abortion drug mifepristone, with Sen. Mark Warner on Sunday calling the possibility “crazy.”

“I think it was crazy. The notion that you would take a drug that has been used safely for more than two decades and somehow then take that away from availability,” the Virginia Democrat said on ABC’s “This Week.”

A case that could roll back federal approval of mifepristone has been winding its way through the courts, with the Supreme Court on Friday granting an emergency request to preserve access to the drug.

That marked the latest round in the heated national debate on abortion, with Democrats strongly backing a woman’s right to choose and many Republicans seeking to crack down on the practice.

“I, frankly, think this is an issue that women’s health care choices ought to be made by women,” said Warner, echoing Democratic outrage since a Texas judge invalidated Food and Drug Administration approval of mifepristone earlier this month.

“The idea of this judge so radically intervening with a safe procedure … it undermines the very integrity of our FDA process,” the senator added.

The Supreme Court didn’t overrule the Texas judge’s decision, but kicked the case to the federal appeals court based in New Orleans.

Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday questioned recent FDA steps widening access to mifepristone.

“Sending the abortion drug through the mail is a big change in how it is provided,” the South Carolina Republican told CNN’s “State of the Union,” noting the Biden administration removed requirements for patients to visit the doctor before getting mifepristone.

“Is that safe?” Graham continued. “Has the FDA gone too far? Have they used the procedures in place to make such a dramatic change? That’s what the court will decide.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence went further than many of his fellow Republicans, saying mifepristone should no longer be sold.

“I’d like to see this medication off the market to protect the unborn,” he said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“But I have deep concerns about the way the FDA went about approving mifepristone 20 years ago. I’m grateful that action is being taken in the courts to hold the FDA accountable to what the law requires in reviewing any medication that’s made on the marketplace.”

The drug is expected to remain available through next year as the court battle plays out.

With News Wire Services