LIVE ACTION – Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has introduced the Restoring Safeguards for Dangerous Abortion Drugs Act to “reinstate safety regulations on the chemical abortion drug mifepristone,” according to the Senator’s press release.
The legislation would also prohibit importation of abortion drugs and enable women harmed by the abortion pill to sue for both physical and emotional distress.
The proposal follows a move by the Trump DOJ to dismiss an important abortion pill lawsuit — something Sen. Hawley called a ‘mistake.”
Hawley’s Legislation
Sen. Hawley’s proposal seeks to remedy changes made to the abortion pill’s safety protocols; it would “require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to approve a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for mifepristone that is identical to the strategy previously approved, and for other purposes.”
The bill would require the following:
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall:
(1) withdraw approval of the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy pursuant to section 505–1 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355–1) for the covered medication that is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) approve a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for the covered medication that is identical to the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy for such covered medication that was approved by such Secretary in June 2011.
The legislation seeks to hold a “telehealth provider, pharmacy, or any other person who knowingly imports or transports a covered medication in interstate or foreign commerce in violation of section 1462 of title 18, United States Code [otherwise known as the Comstock Act]… liable… to any individual who suffers bodily injury or harm to mental health (including any physical, psychological, emotional, or physiological harm) that is attributable, in whole or in part, to the individual’s use” of the abortion pill.
