Life Advocacy Briefing

Question of the Week

IF THE PRESIDENT CAN GO AFTER THE CARTELS pushing deadly fentanyl on the American people because of the high cost in American lives, how about going after the cartels that are killing more than a million developing American lives every year through legalized abortion?

Well Intended but Mistaken

WHEN PRES. DONALD TRUMP SAID on Thursday “You can’t get more pro-life than this” – in reference to his initiative to push in vitro fertilization – he revealed the total lack of information his staff have supplied him with respect to the common practice by IVF shops to overstock a couple’s supply of embryonic progeny and dispose of any deemed as surplus. Let us pray.

Congratulations, Judge Mascott

THOUGH SO MUCH ATTENTION IS FOCUSED on the Senate’s stalemate over government spending, the upper house does, from time to time, work on other matters, including confirmations of Presidential appointees. Last week we reported the Senate had voted to close debate on the nomination of Jennifer Lee Mascott to the 3^rd Circuit Court of Appeals, focused on Delaware.

On Thursday last week – after our deadline – the Senate voted to confirm Judge Mascott, whose pro-life views were a chief focus of the opposition to her appointment. We are pleased to publish the Senate voting record on her confirmation at the close of this Life Advocacy Briefing.

Louisiana Going After FDA Over RU Trafficking

LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL LIZ MURRILL (R) HAS FILED A LAWSUIT in federal court against the federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA), reports S.A. McCarthy for The Washington Stand, seeking to “reinstate a prior rule requiring that the abortion drug mifepristone be dispensed [only] in person.”

The suit is one state’s effort to enforce its own laws against abortion, an effort which is undermined every day by the Biden FDA’s lifting of the in-person rule. Without that rule, which had long limited the epidemic of chemical abortion, the abortion cartel is shipping deadly drugs – secured by online purchase – from states which embrace baby-killing into states which have acted under the Dobbs ruling to protect their future citizens.

Speaking on Family Research Council’s Washington Watch interview program, Atty. Gen. Murrill, reports Mr. McCarthy, said, “‘There’s been this dramatic increase in people, groups, organizations, doctors and other states mailing these pills to women in our state where that is illegal.’” (It is also illegal under the federal Comstock Act to use the US mail for such abortifacient poisons, but the Biden Regime and now the Trump Administration have refused to enforce that law.) The problem, said Ms. Murrill, is “being perpetuated by the FDA’s continuing to allow these pills to not be subject to the protocols that they used to be subject to.’”

The attorney general also nailed the practice as “‘flat-out drug dealing. … There is no doctor-patient relationship whatsoever.’”

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, a former Louisiana state lawmaker, “commended [AG] Murrill and the state’s leadership for filing the lawsuit,” writes Mr. McCarthy. “‘The Trump Administration should repeal approval of mifepristone altogether,’” he said, “‘but it should also swiftly adopt a policy that aligns with its declaration that abortion belongs under state jurisdiction.

“‘Mifepristone has become a murder weapon,’” Mr. Perkins said in the Washington Watch report. “‘The drug is under review because it is unsafe for women – but it is also a tool used by killers … . While a transparent, unbiased review of mifepristone is taking place, abusers could be disarmed if the Trump Administration would re-enact and strengthen the FDA safety protocols originally governing the drug.’”

Better yet, as Mr. Perkins himself said, above, the Trump/Makary FDA should withdraw marketing approval for the baby poison altogether.

Nazi Science Revisited?

WITH SO MUCH CONTROVERSY attached to the field of reproduction by in vitro fertilization, a new “tool” has been developed, reports Robert Jones for LifeSiteNews, “to allow couples undergoing IVF to select which embryos to implant, drawing criticism from bioethicists who warn it could create a ‘dystopian society.’”

A company whose co-founder is a former Duke University lecturer named Jonathan Anomaly has developed a product which supposedly, reports Mr. Jones, “can predict an embryo’s likelihood of developing diseases such as glaucoma and Alzheimer’s.

Readers may decide: Is it coincidental that Mr. Anomaly is author of an essay titled “Defending Eugenics,” which, notes Mr. Jones, “framed the term as ‘informed choice?’”

The Ethics & Public Policy Center’s Director of Bioethics, Technology & Human Flourishing, Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, “criticized the practice in comments to The College Fix, notes Mr. Jones: “‘I do not consider this tool ethical,’ he wrote in an email.

“In a recent policy brief for the Heritage Foundation, [Dr.] Kheriaty warned,” writes Mr. Jones, “that embryo-screening tools are often marketed as treatments for genetic diseases, though they do not heal affected embryos. Instead, embryos identified as carrying risks are destroyed.”

The conception of human beings via IVF offers the opportunity for such Frankensteinian “solutions” to society’s ills. Anti-ethical “solutions” toward advancing biological perfection were condemned upon their exposure during and in the aftermath of World War II. Must we go down that road again, after mourning “never again?”

Senators Stepping Up

51 U.S. SENATORS SENT A LETTER to Health & Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary on Oct. 9 asking for limits on the marketing of the abortion drug, mifepristone, and its generic versions. We believe this is a good step forward, but at the same time, we believe the request should go a step further, to withdraw RU-486 from the market altogether, based on the drug’s sole purpose – to snuff out human life – as well as on the well-established politicization of its initial approval by the FDA in the final days of the Clinton Regime.

We publish the letter below. And here we publish the list of letter signers, all of whom are GOP Senators, including the Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, with thanks to all.

Letter signers are GOP Senators Lindsey Graham (SC) and John Thune (SD), together with Senators Katie Britt & Tom Tuberville (AL), Dan Sullivan (AK), John Boozman & Tom Cotton (AR), Ashley Moody & Rick Scott (FL), Mike Crapo & James Risch (ID), Jim Banks & Todd Young (IN), Joni Ernst & Charles Grassley (IA), Roger Marshall & Jerry Moran (KS), Mitch McConnell & Rand Paul (KY), Bill Cassidy & John Kennedy (LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith & Roger Wicker (MS), Josh Hawley & Eric Schmitt (MO), Steve Daines & Tim Sheehy (MT), Deb Fischer & Pete Ricketts (NE), Ted Budd & Thom Tillis (NC), Kevin Cramer & John Hoeven (ND), John Husted & Bernie Moreno (OH), James Lankford & Markwayne Mullin (OK), David McCormick (PA), Tim Scott (SC), Mike Rounds (SD), Marsha Blackburn & Bill Hagerty (TN), John Cornyn & Ted Cruz (TX), John Curtis & Mike Lee (UT), Shelley Moore Capito & Jim Justice (WV), Ron Johnson (WI), and John Barrasso & Cynthia Lummis (WY).

The Oct. 9 Letter: Dear Secretary Kennedy & Commissioner Makary,

             Under your leadership, we have seen a strong commitment to re-evaluating the policies that affect the most vulnerable among us – the unborn. We applaud your acknowledgement of the concerns surrounding the FDA’s approval and regulation of the abortion pill regimen – mifepristone and misoprostol – and your commitment to following the science to ensure the safety and well-being of women and unborn children alike.

             But the work is far from over. The “abortion-on-demand” culture enabled by the Biden-Harris administration’s removal of critical safeguards on the only FDA-approved abortion regimen is currently the biggest threat to unborn life in America today. Under current FDA regulations, these drugs can be obtained via mail order without meaningful consultation with a medical professional and without any confirmation of who is purchasing them or for what purpose. These policies have enabled abortion pills to be obtained by abusers, traffickers and even minors.

             The aftermath has not only been deadly for preborn babies but lethal to their mothers. Contrary to the narrative peddled by the media that taking abortion pills is “safer than taking Tylenol,” evidence shows that the risk of serious medical complications after taking mifepristone is at least twenty-two times higher than reported on the drug label. In fact, more than 1 in 10 women who take mifepristone will experience a serious adverse event.

             Unrestricted access to abortion pills is systematically undermining states’ rights and violating pro-life state laws. Every month, thousands of abortion drugs are shipped into states that have otherwise limited access to abortion after Dobbs, degrading pro-life laws at the state level across the country. Pro-life states have been forced to defend their citizens against radical abortion extremists. Louisiana and Texas are taking legal action against a New York doctor whose mail-order abortion business put at least two women in the hospital and a California doctor who allegedly sold abortion drugs to men.

             The Biden-Harris administration enabled the deception of American women and the violation of states’ constitutional rights by relying on faulty data to claim that there would be no increase in complications if abortion drugs were approved for mail order. But the current data reveals the truth. This year, two groups of researchers reviewed the outcomes of 865,727 medically-induced abortions from 2017 to 2023, all of which occurred after the FDA stopped collecting complication information other than death in 2016. Their research found “that chemical abortion poses greater risks to women in real-world clinical use than revealed in the clinical trials of mifepristone and that the rate of serious adverse events from the chemical abortion regimen continues to grow in recent years.” Despite this, President Biden used the Covid-19 pandemic as a pretext to remove these critical safeguards and fundamentally undermine women’s reproductive health. But in November 2024, seventy-three million Americans voted to bring a stop to this radical abortion agenda.

             We commend your recent statement acknowledging the data discrepancies surrounding abortion pill safety and your commitment to reviewing the science. We are also encouraged by HHS’s recent announcement that it will review prior Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) approvals, given the recent studies raising concerns about the drug’s safety. Given this commitment, however, we are deeply concerned about the FDA’s approval of a new generic version of mifepristone. While we recognize the FDA’s statutory responsibility in evaluating drug applications, the timing of this approval appears inconsistent with the comprehensive safety reassessment your agencies have prioritized. Out of respect for this important review, and with full confidence in your dedication to protecting women’s health, states’ rights and unborn life, we urge you to take decisive action to reevaluate whether this generic version of mifepristone is suitable to enter the market.

             Today, your agencies have all the information they need to bring an end to previous Democrat-administrations’ abortion drug regulations while a comprehensive review is conducted. As a starting point, we recommend the following:

1. Suspend the approval of any new generic versions of mifepristone pending the outcome of the REMS safety review;
2. Commit to ensuring that all generic versions of mifepristone are included in the ongoing reevaluation of prior REMS approvals;
3. Reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and all its generic versions;
4. Suspend the distribution of mifepristone and all generic versions as an “imminent hazard” under Section 505(e) of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA); and
5. Withdraw FDA guidance permitting pharmacy distribution of mifepristone and all its generic versions.

We are committed to continuing to work together to give a voice to the voiceless and protect women from the dangerous effects of unregulated access to chemical abortion drugs. The life, safety, freedom and health of millions of Americans, born and unborn, depend on it.

A Fresh Look at Mifepristone

Oct. 10, 2025, The Washington Stand commentary by Dan Hart of Family Research Council: Part 1

             As the use of the mifepristone chemical abortion pill continues to rise in the US, concerns are growing that residue from the powerful drug as well as the remains of aborted babies are contaminating the water supply and may be contributing to fertility problems, as well as other health concerns.

             Recently released research by Liberty Counsel Action pointed out that when mifepristone was originally approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000, it was predicted that the impact of the drug on the environment would be minimal, and therefore “no further study was completed.” As LCA noted, since mothers who take the abortion pill are instructed to deliver their dead baby into their toilet at home, the assessment “failed to address the issue of how the fetal remains would be disposed of, essentially ignoring the reality that in many cases, said remains would enter US water systems in violation of various fetal disposal and medical waste laws.”

             In addition, after mifepristone is ingested by the mother, the drug is broken down by her body and eventually forms into “metabolites,” which are small biochemical molecules that are eventually excreted by the body. Although there is no current research on the possible adverse effects of these metabolites on humans and the environment, LCA pointed out that mifepristone “acts as an endocrine disruptor by blocking progesterone, a vital fertility hormone. Relatedly, infertility rates are on the rise and now affect one in six individuals. While there is a clear correlation between the increase in chemical abortions and increased rate of infertility, further study is sorely needed to establish whether there is causation.”

             Lawmakers are also voicing their concerns over the water supply issue. In May 2024, 11 Members of Congress, including former Florida Senator (now Secretary of State) Marco Rubio (R) and Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-OK) wrote a letter to former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan pointing out that the “full impact of mifepristone has never been sufficiently studied. When the FDA approved the drug in 2000, it relied on a 1996 environmental assessment that failed to consider that human fetal remains and the drug’s active metabolites would be making their way into wastewater systems across the US. Any studies that have been conducted in the past should be repeated and updated to reflect the fact that the drug is far more prevalent today than it was three decades ago. In addition, the EPA should study the impact of the ‘byproducts’ of mifepristone, such as the placental tissue, fetal remains and active metabolites that are being flushed into our nation’s wastewater system.”

Life Advocacy Briefing editor’s note: We find this fresh look at mifepristone’s dangers to the public at large to be not only credible but also of great importance. There is more here than we have room to publish, so expect the second half of this report to be published in next week’s Life Advocacy Briefing. And please, take it seriously and pray it will be taken up in high places.

Wisdom from the Great Communicator

EXCERPT #25 from Abortion & the Conscience of the Nation, 1983 treatise by then-President Ronald Reagan, published in Human Life Review, then as a hardcover book from Thomas Nelson Publishers

             Late-term abortions, especially when the baby survives but is then killed by starvation, neglect or suffocation, show once again the link between abortion and infanticide. The time to stop both is now. As my administration acts to stop infanticide, we will be fully aware of the real issue that underlies the death of babies before and soon after birth. Our society has, fortunately, become sensitive to the rights and special needs of the handicapped, but I am shocked that physical or mental handicaps of newborns are still used to justify their extinction. This administration has a Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, who has done perhaps more than any other American for handicapped children, by pioneering surgical techniques to help them, by speaking out on the value of their lives, and by working with them in the context of loving families. You will not find his former patients advocating the so-called “quality-of-life” ethic.

Senate Voting Record

Confirmation of Jennifer Lee Mascott as 3rd Circuit Judge – Confirmed 50-47 – Oct. 9, 2025 (Democrats in italics; “Independents” marked “I”)

Voting “yes” / pro-Life: Britt & Tuberville/AL, Sullivan/AK, Boozman/AR, Moody & Scott/FL, Crapo & Risch/ID, Banks & Young/IN, Ernst & Grassley/IA, Marshall & Moran/KS, McConnell & Paul/KY, Cassidy & Kennedy/LA, Collins/ME, Hyde-Smith & Wicker/MS, Hawley & Schmitt/MO, Daines & Sheehy/MT, Fischer & Ricketts/NE, Budd & Tillis/NC, Cramer & Hoeven/ND, Husted & Moreno/OH, Lankford & Mullin/OK, McCormick/PA, Graham & Scott/SC, Rounds & Thune/SD, Blackburn & Hagerty/TN, Cornyn/TX, Curtis & Lee/UT, Capito & Justice/WV, Johnson/WI, Barrasso & Lummis/WY.

Voting “no” / anti-Life: Murkowski/AK, Gallego & Kelly/AZ, Padilla & Schiff/CA, Bennet & Hickenlooper/CO, Blumenthal & Murphy/CT, Blunt–Rochester & Coons/DE, Ossoff & Warnock/GA, Hirono & Schatz/HI, Duckworth & Durbin/IL, King(I)/ME, Alsobrooks & VanHollen/MD, Markey & Warren/MA, Peters & Slotkin/MI, Klobuchar & Smith/MN, Rosen/NV, Hassan & Shaheen/NH, Booker & Kim/NJ, Heinrich & Lujan/NM, Gillibrand & Schumer/NY, Merkley & Wyden/OR, Fetterman/PA, Reed & Whitehouse/RI, Sanders(I) & Welch/VT, Kaine & Warner/VA, Cantwell & Murray/WA, Baldwin/WI.

Not voting: Cotton/AR, Cortez–Masto/NV, Cruz/TX.