No, Trump Isn't 'Defending' Mifepristone

5.5.25

Click to skip ahead: In the Courts, some surprising news from the Trump administration on mifepristone. Abortion Pill Attacks flags the lack of mainstream coverage of the bogus abortion pill study. Anti-Abortion Glossary takes on ‘loopholes.’ Legislation Watch has the latest on Texas’ ‘clean water’ bill. In the States, news from Florida, Virginia, Connecticut, and Washington. In the Nation, some quick hits. Finally—join me tomorrow evening in a livestream with Red, Wine & Blue.

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In the Courts

I was just about to hit send on today’s newsletter when I saw some genuinely surprising news: that Trump’s Department of Justice is supposedly “defending” mifepristone against a lawsuit brought by three Republican attorneys general. (Don’t get too excited, I’ll explain.)

You probably remember this one: AGs from Kansas, Missouri, and Idaho filed a complaint against the FDA, demanding the agency roll back access to mifepristone and ban the shipping of the medication altogether.

Abortion, Every Day broke the news of the suit’s revival in October and published a detailed explainer on the very wacky things it alleged—like claims that abortion medication “starves the baby to death in the womb.” (It gets worse, if you can imagine that.)

Most of us assumed the Trump administration would drop the Biden-era defense of the case. But today, Trump’s DOJ actually asked the courts to dismiss the suit. Surprising? Yes! A good sign? I wouldn’t go that far.

Because here’s the thing: The Trump administration didn’t defend mifepristone on the merits—they simply argued that the states don’t have standing to sue. In fact, the DOJ was careful to say that they weren’t weighing in on whether the AGs’ wild claims about the medication were true.

As ACLU attorney Julia Kay told HuffPost, “The Trump Administration should not get a gold star for continuing to highlight the glaring legal flaws in Missouri’s case—they could not do otherwise with a straight face.”

My guess is that the Trump administration is looking for some positive press on abortion pills: By challenging the suit on standing, they get credit for “defending” mifepristone—racking up voter-friendly headlines—but they don’t actually have to refute the AGs’ junk science.

That way, if (when) the FDA cracks down on mifepristone, the Trump administration can pretend as if they’re not biased. After all—didn’t they just oppose a lawsuit?!

I’ll have more on this story tomorrow, but consider taking a moment in the meantime to revisit AED’s explainer below. From claims that the FDA “created a 50-state abortion drug mailing economy” to scare-tactics that mifepristone will impact little girls’ “developing reproductive systems”—it really is worth the refresher:

The GOP's Attack on Abortion Pills is Here

Abortion Pill Attacks

The Trump administration’s legal move makes a lot more sense in context: I’m betting they didn’t push back on the AGs’ junk science because they plan to use the same arguments to restrict abortion pills themselves.

Remember: a week ago, conservatives dropped a bogus new study claiming that 1 in 10 people who use abortion pills experience serious or life-threatening side effects. It took just two days before Republicans were using the fake research to lobby the FDA to roll back access to mifepristone.

Still, not a single major national outlet has covered the ‘research’. And while I get not wanting to give bullshit any oxygen, we need places like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the AP to cover and debunk this so-called study. First, because Republicans using clearly bad data to attack abortion pills is a story in itself—and we know they’ve weaponized fake research before, all the way to the Supreme Court.

But it’s more than that: While mainstream outlets have stayed quiet, news of the ‘research’ has been splashed across every corner of conservative media—from Fox News to right-wing influencers. That means anti-abortion lobbyists and activists are being allowed to drive the national conversation on abortion pills, spreading misinformation unchecked.

If we don’t have some massive pushback soon—if there isn’t a definitive debunking by a credible source—the anti-abortion movement will use this nonsense data to end critical access to mifepristone.

There’s no overstating what a nightmare that would be: Right now, 1 in 5 American abortions happen via telehealth. That’s our finger-in-the-dam! If abortion pills are restricted to in-person use only, we’ll lose one of the most crucial tools we have for helping patients in anti-abortion states.

Republicans know it—which is why telehealth is the first thing they want to eliminate, claiming that the pills are too dangerous to be taken without a doctor present.

In fact, that’s exactly what U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley writes today in The Federalist (sorry, I’m not linking):

“[W]e can stop this abortion-on-demand bonanza. At the very least, the Trump administration can, and should, reinstate the full complement of mifepristone safety regulations immediately. Only doctors should be able to prescribe the drug, and only after a real-life, in-person visit. Only doctors should be able to dispense and administer it, and only in a clinical setting. And there should be mandatory safety checkups afterward. For its part, Congress should make all of these rules permanent by writing them into law.”

In other words: Conservatives are wasting no time—and they have a very clear plan. Instead of headlines about how the Trump administration is “defending” abortion medication, I’d love to see more reporting on the fake study they’re planning to use to restrict it. (As I finished this section up, I saw that Agence France-Presse published something—which is great! More please!)

Read Abortion, Every Day’s takedown of the bogus study, and consider sharing something on social media today. You can even steal AED’s Instagram images!

Anti-Abortion Glossary

It’s been a minute since we had a new word to add to our anti-abortion glossary, let alone two! Say hello to ‘loophole’ and ‘immunity.’ These are terms I’m noticing more and more, specifically around bills to prosecute abortion patients.

If you’re a regular reader, you’re already familiar with ‘equal protection' bills: legislation that would charge abortion patients as murderers, with punishments that could include life in prison or the death penalty. The extremist bills have been considered in a dozen states since January.

Desperate to pretend that these bills are totally normal and not completely psychotic, the so-called abortion abolitionists crafting the legislation are pushing out very specific talking points—all designed to normalize the idea of punishing women.

The Foundation to Abolish Abortion, for example, is the primary lobbying group behind ‘equal protection’ bills. Their president Bradley Pierce criticized Republican lawmakers who resist his legislation as, “support[ing] a policy that singles out women to grant them legal immunity to commit prenatal homicide.”

Similarly, DJ Parten of End Abortion Alabama bemoaned that “women who intentionally terminate their child should not be granted blanket immunity.” And Jason Storms from Operation Save America said, “thousands of babies are still being killed in every single state in our country with legal immunity by giving mothers wholesale exemption from prosecution.”

The point of ‘immunity’ is to make it sound as if women who aren’t punished for their abortions are somehow being given special treatment. The same is true for ‘loophole’. I first noticed that one back in February, when Oklahoma Sen. Dusty Deevers complained that “our current law has a loophole that says [women] will not be prosecuted if she takes the life of her own child.”

Deevers said it allowed for “a protected class of murderer.” Like ‘immunity’, ‘loophole’ is popping up more than ever.

So-called abortion abolitionists want to make it seem like they’re not proactively punishing women—just ‘closing loopholes.’ As if charging us with murder is a simple issue of red tape!

Keep an eye out for those two terms over the next few months; unfortunately, I think we’re going to see more of them.

Legislation Watch

Speaking of extremist legislation: I’m still keeping a close eye on the Texas bill seeking to test the state’s wastewater for abortion medication and birth control—not just because of how wacky it is, but because that wacky strategy is being implemented across the country. As you likely remember, Students for Life kicked off a legislative blitz this year—crafting ‘clean water’ bills for Republicans across the country.

I’ve been tracking this trend for over two years: conservatives argue that abortion pills and birth control are harming the environment and groundwater. It’s a move that came after Students for Life figured out that protecting the environment is a whole lot more popular than banning abortion.

While most of the bills focus on abortion medication, Texas brought contraception into the mix, as well—not surprising given the state is so often a testing ground for anti-abortion extremism. (It’s also worth remembering that Students for Life wants to make birth control illegal, something they don’t like to bring up—but I always will!)

Abortion, Every Day broke the news about this ‘clean water’ bill a few weeks ago, and now the story is gaining steam across Texas: Austin American-Statesman covered the legislation recently, and The Dallas Morning News published something on the bill today.

Reporter Emily Brindley points out just how hard Students for Life has been pushing on this particular tactic:

“Between 2022 and 2024, one of the group’s sister organizations wrote five petitions to the FDA about mifepristone regulation, including environmental and water regulation. In 2024, the group wrote a letter to the United States Congress, asking for federal regulation of mifepristone’s impact on the environment.

This year, Students for Life of America has supported mifepristone monitoring bills in the Montana and Wyoming state legislatures.”

It’s overwhelming and infuriating, I know. But here’s how I think about it: they know they can’t win on the merits. Anti-abortion activists are very, very aware that the American people are not with them, so the only way they can push their policies through is by force or lying.

In the States

It’s been a year since Florida enacted a 6-week abortion ban, decimating access not just in the state—but across the region. The ban even had a national impact: Before the law went into effect, more than 1 in 10 abortions in the U.S. happened in Florida; and in just the first few months after it was enacted, the Guttmacher Institute found that the average number of abortions fell by more than 7% across the country.

But, of course, it’s Floridians themselves suffering most acutely. Dr. Robyn Schickler, chief medical officer of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, tells the Florida Phoenix, that she’s seen an increase in miscarriage patients who’ve been referred to the organization—that’s because “they don’t know if they can take care of them” under Florida law.

Schickler also says that they’re seeing patients who hope to get care under exceptions to the state’s ban—like rape victims, or those whose fetus has a fatal abnormality. But as abortion rights groups warned before the law took effect, these exceptions are so narrow that few patients qualify.

Rape victims have to bring ‘proof’ of their attack, like a police report or medical record—which eliminates most victims off the bat. And the exception for fatal fetal abnormalities can only be used if two doctors certify in writing that the fetus will die immediately upon birth or soon after. But the law doesn’t define whether that means a few hours or a few weeks—and leaving doctors to decide if they want to risk jail time on a diagnosis.

There was one quote from Schickler that especially broke my heart. She said some patients aren’t even aware of the 6-week ban at all:

“I would say the most common is they just start crying like they can’t believe it. Devastation. Sometimes we’ll get someone, you know, asking if you can make an exception and just do this one, which of course we can’t legally. Most of the time, though, it’s just it’s really sad like, you know, immediate crying, complete devastation.”

For more details on Florida’s ban, read Abortion, Every Day’s 2024 explainer:

Countdown to Florida's Abortion Ban

Can someone please tell me what Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has against birth control? The Republican governor has vetoed legislation that codifies the right to contraception for the second time.

Both times around, Youngkin claimed that birth control access is already protected and therefore the legislation is unnecessary. I’ve got to tell you, I don’t find that particularly convincing!

My guess? He’s doing what we’ve seen from a lot of Republicans: refusing to proactively protect birth control so he doesn’t have to specify which types of contraception he supports. Because remember, the anti-abortion movement has been hard at work trying to redefine certain kinds of contraception—like IUDs and emergency contraception—as abortifacients.

And let’s be real, for all of Youngkin’s bullshit about being a moderate, this is a guy who proposed a budget that allocated money to the Department of Corrections to arrest women and doctors. (It was around the time he thought he was going to be able to pass a ban—the line item was done in anticipation of that legislation, which ultimately failed.)

For some better birth control news, let’s look to Connecticut—where lawmakers have advanced legislation to give teens access to contraception without parental notification. Planned Parenthood of Southern New England said that HB 7213 “simply codifies what has already been an established practice in Connecticut.”

It may seem like a small thing, but in a moment when Republicans are attacking birth control access—especially for young people—pushing legislation like this is really important. I’ll keep you updated on where the bill goes next.

Finally, I’m just catching up on some disappointing news out of Washington: Democrats’ new budget includes an $8.5 million cut to the Abortion Access Project. It’s the biggest cut to funding for abortion access in the state’s history.

In a release, Pro-Choice Washington says that Gov. Bob Ferguson refused to approve any budget with a wealth tax. Instead, Democrats “finalized a budget on the backs of most vulnerable patients and residents.”

“By dismantling the funding for key social services such as the Abortion Access Project, our lawmakers have failed to protect the systems and programs that make reproductive freedom a reality for millions of Washingtonians.”

And that’s the thing: Americans aren’t just counting on pro-choice states to lead the way on abortion rights politically—but to be there as providers for out-of-state patients. So this move feels especially shameful.

Quick hits:

• More Virginia news: Three Planned Parenthood centers (Richmond, Hampton & Virginia Beach) have been impacted by Trump’s Title X cuts;

• Anti-abortion activists in Alaska are raising the alarm about a bill they say could allow pharmacists to prescribe abortion medication (I hope!);

• Bloomington, Indiana now has a vending machine with emergency contraception;

• And The Atlanta Journal-Constitution covers a survey of Georgia OBGYNs, who say the state’s abortion ban is endangering women’s lives. (Read AED’s coverage of that study here.)

In the Nation

• If you haven’t read this piece from The Guardian on the rise of female anti-feminist content creators, brace yourselves;

• Jfc, RFK: Our brain-wormed head of the HHS says that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine includes “aborted fetus debris”;

• HuffPost has more on Speaker Mike Johnson’s comments about using Trump’s budget bill to defund Planned Parenthood and reroute federal dollars to crisis pregnancy centers;

• And I was thrilled to see this: ProPublica has won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service for their “life of the mother” series and reporting on the women killed by abortion bans.

Join me tomorrow!

I’m super excited to be joining Red, Wine & Blue in a conversation tomorrow evening. I’ll be talking about all the attacks on reproductive rights I track here at the newsletter, and what we can do about it. Find out more and register for the Zoom here.