In a recent letter to President Donald Trump, 40 Baptist leaders from 22 states implored his administration to stop the mail-order distribution of the abortion drug mifepristone.
“Women, unborn children, and the rule of law urgently need your leadership,” they said.
The letter detailed how a federal policy carried over from the Biden administration continues to allow abortion drugs to be dispensed without an in-person consultation with a doctor or medical professional, placing the health and safety of women at serious risk. It also noted that abortion drugs are being distributed by mail in violation of the Comstock Act, even into states that have enacted pro-life laws following the historic Dobbs decision.
The continuation of this federal policy under the Trump administration is effectively nullifying the pro-life laws of many states represented in the letter, which was drafted under the leadership of Family Research Council President Tony Perkins. The letter was signed by forty leaders from the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.
“As spiritual overseers and pro-life leaders, we are deeply grateful for your unwavering defense of the unborn during your first term—particularly your leadership in overturning Roe v. Wade, reinstating and expanding the Mexico City Policy, and defunding Planned Parenthood and reversing the Biden/Harris administration’s abuse of the FACE Act,” the letter began.
“Today, we respectfully urge your immediate action to stop the mail-order distribution of the abortion drug mifepristone, which now accounts for more than 60% of all U.S. abortions. Enabled by the previous administration’s rollback of FDA safety protocols, this dangerous drug has caused serious adverse events in nearly 11% of users and poses grave risks to women—especially when dispensed without in-person screening or ultrasound evaluation.”
The letter requested that President Trump: Restore and strengthen FDA safety protocols for mifepristone, including an ultrasound requirement; direct the FDA to reevaluate the drug’s approval; and instruct the Department of Justice to enforce the Comstock Act to protect states’ rights to uphold pro-life laws.
Perkins and the church leaders noted how overall abortion rates have increased since Dobbs, mainly due to lax policies on mifepristone and the expansion of mail-order access. They also noted the detriment of shield laws in pro-abortion states that protect providers who illegally ship mifepristone into pro-life states.
This spring, the authors of a paper from the Ethics and Policy Center, The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event, appealed to the Trump administration to take immediate action regarding abortion drugs. Research conducted by Jamie Bryan Hall (Director of Data Analysis, Ethics and Public Policy Center) and Ryan T. Anderson (President, Ethics and Public Policy Center) concluded that the rate of serious health complications following mifepristone abortions is at least 22 times higher than the number found on current drug labels.
“This study is the statistical equivalent of a category 5 hurricane hitting the prevailing narrative of the abortion industry,” Anderson said. “It reveals, based on real-world data, the shocking number of women who suffer serious medical consequences because of the abortion pill.”
In a June 2024 press release following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to hear a challenge to the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, Perkins said he was looking toward the day when the FDA is held accountable for its politically motivated reckless endangerment of women and their unborn children.
“Every abortion is tragic because it takes the life of an unborn child, but abortions using the mifepristone drug are especially devastating because of the additional risk they pose to the mother,” Perkins said in 2024. “The FDA’s own label admits that 1 in 25 women will visit the ER after the use of this drug. The FDA knew this and still removed the safety regulations that would minimize the physical risks to mothers. This is not the end. The pro-life movement will never stop fighting for moms and their unborn children.”