LIVE: GOP Reps. Urge SCOTUS to Protect Women and Children From Harms of Chemical Abortion

the dangers these powerful abortion drugs pose to women in addition to killing an unborn child by starving the baby to death and outrage in and of itself the chemical abortion regimen presents significant health risks to pregnant women that is at the core of the lawsuit President Bill Clinton not only issued an executive order on his first day in office to bring these baby poisons to the United States he sent his FDA commissioner David C to Lobby rousel ukaf who was then the company marketing it and he wanted them to Market it here in the United States in 2000 the FDA stated that abortion pills be taken no later than 7 weeks and have at least three in-person doctor visits to check for acoptic pregnancy severe bleeding and life-threatening complications by 2016 however the Obama FDA pushed usage to a 10-week pregnancy only one doctor visit it permitted nonphysicians to prescribe the drugs and nullified the requirement that prescribers report all serious complication we all know that when adverse effect events happen the FDA needs to hear about it there is Under reporting in almost all drugs but then they said you don't even have to report so when people say how safe it is they have no idea although many of our doctors do in 2021 Biden's FDA eviscerated the requirement for an office visit so that women now take these dangerous poisons at home without any determination whether or not there is an autoptic pregnancy in the Congressional Amicus brief authored by Americans United for life and they will speak shortly that my colleagues congressman fluger and Senator hind Cindy Hy Smith who will speak momentarily LED in support of this initiative had 145 members of Congress uh in that petition I encourage you to read that and as well as the submissions that have been made and the arguments that have been made that that were made by the alliance defending Freedom have a nice day please step aside no you come to every hearing and you have right to speak but now you're being very rude I'd like to now introduce uh Cindy height Smith uh who every hearing we have they show up and every entitles to their freedom of speech um but let me just say I'd like to invite Cindy he Smith a very very distinguished member of the Senate who has led this effort uh on the Senate side uh and was the co-lead on the amikas free thank you very much and uh thank you all for being here today on this really important issue and as you can tell it is very important near and dear to us this is our cause this is why we are here today we must hold FDA accountable for endangering the lives of women and girls across the United States they have allowed abortion inducing drugs to be readily available by completely circumventing federal law not only once but twice they have circumvented federal law to do this the fda's actions promotes dangerous do-it-yourself abortions by male and tele medicine without even ever seeing a doctor ultimately they've attacked they have turned brick and mortar pharmacies and post offices into abortion clinics the FDA has completely abandoned its obligation to protect the public and vulnerable population from harm and to comply with federal law folks this is simple they are breaking the law in doing this they're endangering lives by doing this this just is not right and women deserve better than this women should be outraged that these people are put in danger like this that other women are put in dangers I'm praying for the justices as they hear the oral arguments next week for all women and unborn children who have suffered from these drugs I'm praying that the right decision will be made thank you thank you very much thank you very much Senator I'd like to now invite Eric Baptist who serves as senior council at the alliance defending Freedom uh focusing on a number of issues but he is the lead litigate on this and has if you take the time and I do hope you do uh to read what he and his team have put together uh it is a very very powerful argument as to why the FDA has absolutely abandoned women Eric thank you very much Mr Congressman good afternoon I'm Eric Baptist senior counsel with Alliance defending freedom and I Serv as co-counsel on the case FDA vers Alliance for hipocratico Drug Administration the federal agency receiv responsible for ensuring the safety of drugs that Americans take has betrayed women and girls women should have the ongoing care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs but in recent years the FDA has recklessly removed nearly every Safeguard the agency previously considered necessary for abortion drugs including in-person doctor visits to check for ectopic pregnancies severe bleeding and life-threatening infections without question the fda's actions made taking high-risk abortion drugs less safe for women what's especially appalling is the fda's rationale for removing the initial in-person office visit thereby allowing abortion providers to mail these drugs without ever having to check women for life-threatening conditions or complications the initial in office visit was crucial because it provided a woman with her only opportunity to be checked for an octop pregnancy and to determine the gestational age of her baby before taking these drugs the FDA took that away from women based on studies that the agency conceded were not adequate to show the safety of this new male order abortion scheme on behalf of Doctors Medical associations and their members Alliance defending Freedom sue the FDA to hold it accountable for violating federal law and endangering the health and safety of women our doctor clients are witnessing firsthand the harms inflicted by The fda's Reckless actions to understand the high-risk nature of these drugs one need look no further than the fda's own label for these drugs which shows that roughly one in 25 women will end up in the emergency room after taking these drugs this fact also reveals the absurdity of the fda's claim that these drugs are just as safe as Advil Advil doesn't send one in 25 women to the emergency room and yet those who profit from the sale of abortion drugs continue to Pedal this false dangerous narrative ignoring how this lie harms women the FDA must be held accountable for violating its duty to protect Women's Health that is why ADF is asking the Supreme Court to find that the ADF I'm sorry that the FDA acted unlawfully by removing its original safety standards affirming what three federal courts have already held as a devoted father of three young girls the husband of an amazing wife and the son of a devoted mother I know without a doubt that Women's Health matters we hope that the Supreme Court will agree and hold the FDA accountable for violating the law to the detriment of women's health thank you thank you so much I'd like to now invite to the podium Dr Christina Francis who is a board certified OBGYN uh has served thousands and thousands of women uh she has such a compassionate heart she spent 3 years in Kenya uh helping women there with uh uh OBGYN services including delivery of children uh just an amazing woman she's the president of the American um uh pro-life obster and gynecologist and uh with and and a true expert in the field good afternoon as Congressman Smith said my name is Dr Christina Francis and I'm a board certified OBGYN who's practiced medicine for about two decades now I'm also the CEO of the American Association of pro-life OBGYNs we should all agree regardless of one's views about abortion that women deserve to have the ongoing care of a doctor when they're taking high-risk drugs the fda's inexplicable decision to remove this ongoing and in-person care for the use of abortion drugs endangers the health and safety of women and girls and I see this regularly in my practice as do my colleagues that is why doctors and our medical organizations sued the FDA to hold it accountable for its Reckless actions when the FDA first approved abortion drugs it required doctors to provide ongoing care to women using these drugs including an initial in-person doctor visit and two follow-up in-person visits to check for ectopic pregnancies which are the leading cause of maternal mortality in the first trimester severe bleeding and life-threatening infections but in 2016 the FDA made sweeping changes to its original safeguards including eliminating two out of the three previously required physician visits then in 2021 the FDA removed the initial in-person office visit the only opportunity to check a woman for an ectopic pregnancy and importantly to give her the opportunity for individualized informed consent especially because an increase in the gational age of her pregnancy directly correlates with an increase in the likelihood of a serious complication this visit also allowed doctors to protect against coercion but the FDA removed this critical visit even though it admitted the studies on which it relied to do so were and I quote not adequate to establish the drug safety by mail as an OBGYN it is appalling to me that the FDA would leave women to perform their own chemical abortions at home alone without even one in-person visit with a doctor what's even more shocking is that the FDA removed its Safeguard despite its own label stating that roughly one in 25 women who take these drugs will end up in the emergency room my colleagues and I are on the front lines witnessing and treating the women harmed by the fda's shameful actions Women's Health matters and they deserve better I hope the Supreme Court will hold the FDA accountable for its Reckless disregard for Women's Health thank you dror thank you so very much I'd like to now invite John M who's the CEO of Americans United for life of a public interest law firm that has done amazing work over the years but they uh were the ones who drafted uh the amus brief that the members of the house and the Senate assigned on to thank you Congressman fluger Congressman Smith Senator Hyde Smith and Alliance defending freedom for your amazing and principled support my name is John M and I'm proud to serve as the CEO of Americans United for life our country's First National pro-life organization aul has been privileged to represent 145 courageous pro-life members of Congress before The Supreme Court who are determined to hold the FDA accountable for pushing this Dangerous Drug on American women this case is about the health and safety of women and girls usually when confronted with the reality that it approved A Dangerous Drug the FDA takes the initiative to remove the drug from the marketplace the abortion Distortion has prevented the FDA from following the normal course of withdrawing A Dangerous Drug as the agency has prioritized politics and profits over safety the arguments we presented in our Amicus brief are common sense number one the FDA violated the food drug and cosmetic act which requires the FDA to ensure drugs are safe and efficacious the FDA said mistone was safe and then proceeded to remove those safeguards however its claim that mistone is safe assumes those safeguards are in place number two the FDA subverted the Pediatric research Equity act which requires pediatric studies before approving or deregulating drugs this puts underage girls at higher risk number three by removing the in-person dispensing requirement the FDA violated at ated comto which bans the mailing of chemical abortion drugs tele medical chemical abortions pose additional health and safety risks and raise the risk of intimate partner violence this case exposes the impact of bad politics money and ideology the Biden Administration has pushed the FDA Way Beyond the limits of its Authority the FDA has been weaponized and because of the abortion Distortion period over the last 20 years the the FDA has shredded its Authority and and reputation today the FDA seems committed to ensuring that money keeps flowing to drug companies Danko and gen B pro Common Sense protections from M prone have been removed simply to keep profits flowing to the abortion industry and for continued political gains at the expense of the health and safety of women and girls Americans United for life is proud to stand with pro-life leaders from across this great nation we remain hopeful that the court acknowledges that the FDA has failed in its Duty to protect Americans women and families and together let us continue to Champion the human rights of life for all thank you thank you very much I'd like to now invite Aus fluger who led the House Republicans uh and Democrats we have any Democrats sadly and in Theus brief August gentleman from Texas uh good afternoon next week the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of the alliance for hypocracy FDA which deals with the fda's dangerous politically motivated regulation of the abortion drug mffa priston in advance of the arguments I led a by Camal Amicus brief with Senator Sydney heid Smith and 145 lawmakers urging the court to prioritize the safety of women and girls in the upcoming ruling this is about protecting the safety of Americans from a politicized FDA in 2016 the FDA recklessly violated the laws by doing away with iners person and follow-up doctor visits and eliminating reporting requirements for Adverse Events caused by the drug later on in 2021 the FDA subsequently allowed mea priston to be delivered through the mail again disregarding the safety concerns and taking away medical oversight we can't cannot allow politics to dictate healthc care decisions especially when it comes to matters as critical as the health and safety of women the fda's disre for federal law and patient safeguards is appalling and it's unacceptable by subverting regulations they have exposed countless women to unnecessary risk together we must hold the FDA accountable and demand that they prioritize the well-being of women over political agendas let us Stand United in defense of life and safety ensuring that every woman receives the care and the protection that they deserve you know just to really think about the fact that you can now order through the mail the drug mear priston not be under the care of a physician not have those subsequent follow on visits not know what the negative side effects could be especially as a father of three girls is completely unacceptable that's why we continue to fight this I applaud the Supreme Court for what they're doing to hear this case I want to thank my friend Chris Smith chair of the pro-life caucus as well uh as Senator Sydney Hyde Smith for her leadership and I urge all of my colleagues to really pay attention to this to prioritize the safety and the health of all women thank you very much Tim Tim Tim bad thank you Tim Tim buret I'm as the 435th most powerful member of Congress usually all the good stuff is said before I get up here but I just wanted to know that really there's three things going on here it's it's it's it's principle it's it's it's politics and it's profit the politics of this we got an election coming up you know and everybody's worried about what the polls say they need to worry about what their consci says they're worried and this is about profit this is about a predatory industry that prays upon young girls and they're allowing a medical procedure to occur that is at least one of the individuals that receives this medicine will die and it could possibly lead to the death of two this is just a complete farce and everybody knows what's going on with this this white house should be ashamed and we need to clean this up so thank y'all okay any questions yes kind of already done this let's say I am a pro-choice Democrat why should I want the Supreme Court to rule in your favor my hope would be that anyone who has a compassion and empathy for women will want those women all women to be protected from this very dangerous uh chemical um one could be as so-called pro-choice as as you could possibly be but you at least want the women I mean we have always as a movement I've been in the movement for 50 years believ that there are two victims to every abortion the mother and the baby now we have a type of abortion uh that has been Unleashed upon American women and as was just pointed out uh the Pediatric rule was never followed we don't know the deleterious effects it has on young girls uh I remember we argued this uh during the Clinton years we argued and said why aren't you testing we don't want you to test we don't want you to do it but at least know what this powerful drug the impact it might have on on women who happen to be minors uh young girls so I would hope that everyone who cares about women's health uh will speak out and say to the Supreme Court and to Congress because there will be followup here obviously uh that we care about women's health and this is not I mean imagine getting this pill as was just mentioned by my distinguished friends and colleagues uh in the mail you don't even have a doctor's visit you can have an autoptic pregnancy and not know it and as the doctor will tell you and everyone will tell you in the medical profession that is a disaster that is happening so for the sake of women yes um just to add to that you know speaking as a physician this issue that's before the court really is not about whether someone is pro-life pro-choice pro-abortion we all should be in agreement that women and speaking as a physician our patients Deserve Better Health Care than this this is egregious care that women are receiving it has completely destroyed the opportunity for informed consent you cannot give blanket informed consent to every pregnant woman who might think that she wants to take these drugs it has to be individualized to her based on her gestational age based on other risk factors based on whether or not she has an ectopic pregnancy and you know just to share a very quick story I sat down with a couple of my pro-choice colleagues after all of this happened and after the FDA had removed the in-person dispensing requirement and I said you know if a woman called and she thought that she was um having a miscarriage or she said that she wanted to have an abortion but you really had no idea how far along she was she'd never had an ultrasound to document that the pregnancy was in her uterus would you ever give her these drugs without seeing her and they said no that would be malpractice why on Earth would anyone do that so Physicians who are in practice understand that this is about taking care of our patients it's not about whether someone is pro-life or not pro-life this is about ensuring that women have fully informed consent and that when they take these drugs they understand the risks that are facing them and that they can trust that the FDA has said that they're safe to be dispensed in this way that in fact they are safe to be dispensed in that way bottom bottom line the FDA did not follow the rules in in requiring this and and talk to inform Americans about that especially the younger Americans who are just hearing from Democrats that your grandmother had more rights than you why we brought this case is because the FDA is supposed to follow the law in particular when Congress delegated its authority to the FDA to serve as the nation's gatekeeper for drugs and determine what drugs are safe to be in the marketplace and can remain in the marketplace Congress gave Specific Instructions to the FDA of how to do that and that's what we're holding the FDA accountable for because the F recklessly disregarded those instructions to the detriment of women's health they're supposed to have adequate studies and then you've heard today that the fda's own words said the studies in which they approved male order abortions were not adequate that is on its face unlawful and that's why three courts have already agreed with us in this case because it's not about whether you're pro-life or pro-choice or pro-abortion it's about women's health and what the FDA is supposed to do to uphold and protect Women's Health and it's failed to do so time and time again you mentioned that there would be follow up by Congress after the court decision can you elaborate what you not at this time we're going to wait and see what happens get to the oral arguments next week and Happ decision we will monitor are there any bills that have been introduced so far in beate you know anys my name is Jamie dangers I'm legislative director at Susan B Anthony Pro lifee America um Senator Cindy Hyde Smith and and um Congressman bob L have introduced a bill called the safe moms and babies act that would return the original safeguards uh surrounding these abortion drugs and ensure that no substantially similar drug could be approved by the FDA thank you so very much list of has all of his brief just looking for for the list of the people who spoke thank you so much e