by Jaryn Crouson
Action by the American Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) sent a letter to Republican Party officials on Friday, calling on them to question President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees on their position on late-term abortions and to investigate the safety of the abortion pill.
AAPLOG letter asks Republicans to consider the importance of pro-life issues during the elections confirmation hearings Dr. Marty Makary, nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, nominee to director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The organization called on the administration to re-examine the safety of the abortion pill, which has already faced several legal challenges due to claims that numerous precautions were ignored in an attempt to speed up its approval.
“As you know, HHS plays the most influential role of any government agency for those of us who practice life-affirming medicine and ensure conscience rights are protected,” reads the letter shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. “As such, the leaders of the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and HHS generally are critically important candidates for our confidence in advancing life-affirming policies over the next four years. We are encouraged by the positive reports regarding the meetings that many of you have had with the nominees on these topics.”
The medical body has proposed that appointees commit to enforcing stricter safety regulations surrounding the abortion pill mifepristone and reconsider prescribing the drug via telehealth. The letter said nominees should also be asked to defend the conscience rights of medical students and set a pregnancy limit they would impose on abortion.
Nominees are also asked to uphold “[t]According to the letter, “transparency, not ideology” regarding research and data on abortion.
“[A]physicians who ensure excellent health care for all of our patients, born and unborn, these priorities are non-negotiable for us,” AAPLOG wrote. We look forward to the confirmation process and further information about these nominees’ positions and commitments to transparency in health care and improving protections for life-sustaining medicine, health care providers and our patients.”
Several doctors have already done this questioned the safety of the abortion pill, claiming that the FDA ignored safety protocols in approving the drug and warning about the risks of allowing the pill to be purchased online without a doctor’s prescription and mailed. In one such legal dispute, the Supreme Court in 2024 unilateral with the FDA, ruling that although the pro-life plaintiffs lacked standing, they had “sincere legal, moral, ideological, and political objections to elective abortion and the FDA’s relaxed mifepristone regulations.” The court also said it was an “inappropriate forum” for the debate.
Trump promised to leave abortion decisions to the states after the collapse of Roe v. Wade, dwindling support a federal ban on this bill. RFK Jr. also expressed his opinion disapproval federal abortion bans before the point of viability.
The Biden administration has maintained a pro-abortion stance and shown hostility toward pro-life activists, using the Department of Justice (DOJ) to sue several people protested near abortion clinics.
“After four years of threats to conscience rights and a lack of respect for the health and safety of our patients, we look forward to working with the new administration and finding common ground to improve patient safety,” APPLOG CEO Dr. Christina Francis told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “These priorities identify real opportunities to improve the lives of our patients and improve life-sustaining medical care.”
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Jaryn Crouson is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
