States stockpile abortion meds because of possible Trump presidency
A Republican administration could bring more stringent rules from FDA for mifepristone.
Donald Trump’s possible ascension back to the White House brings with it fears about what will happen with federal policymaking insofar as abortion is concerned.
The biggest concern is that the Food and Drug Administration will change its stance on mifepristone, which is the first in a two-pill regimen. States like Washington have stockpiled the drug if it will no longer be available to the public.
State officials there purchased mifepristone in March 2023 after a Texas lawsuit challenged FDA approval. That case, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, later went to the Supreme Court, which ruled that the medication could remain available. What was troubling about Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s opinion was what he prescribed for handling the drug at a later point.
“The plaintiffs may present concerns and objections to the President and FDA in the regulatory process or to Congress and the President in the legislative process,” Kavanaugh said. “And they may also express their views about abortion and mifepristone to fellow citizens, including in the political and electoral processes.”
I spoke with Molly Voris, Governor Jay Inslee's senior policy advisor for public health and health care, about the potential worst-case scenario.
“We are looking at what may happen if there are restrictions going forward in any way,” Voris said. “And so we're evaluating how we should be approaching that.”
Voris said they are developing a distribution plan in the event the stockpile must be used. They don’t want the medication to expire. They’ve also considered how to restock mifepristone once the state’s supply is exhausted.
Greer Donley, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, talked to me earlier this year about what a Republican presidency could do. Presidents have the power to appoint the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA.
“A future Republican president could appoint a very anti-abortion FDA commissioner,” Donley told me. “And they are things that that person and the agency could do to make it harder for people to access medication abortion.”
In February, I spoke to Jane Henney, who led the FDA from 1999 to 2001, about the potential implications of a Republican administration. Henney oversaw the approval of mifepristone, which experts reviewed for four years. They saw it as a priority drug because it was the first in its class, but it wasn’t rushed. It underwent the same rigorous process as every other drug.
“Certainly there are times when after a drug is out on the market, and you learn more about its safety profile,” Henney said. “And sometimes that gets worse and better. There have been times when the FDA has taken drugs off the market.”
Henney said that mifepristone has seen more evidence of safety than a danger.
“What happened originally is not what necessarily is appropriate for now that we've got 20 years of experience with a drug,” Henney said. “And some of those restrictions were demonstrated by clinical trials and other names that they were no longer necessary.”