By Tyler Arnold
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 13, 2024 / 18:40 pm
President-elect Donald Trump vowed he would not use his executive authority to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone in an interview published by Time magazine on Dec. 12.
When asked by Time whether he was “committed to making sure that the [Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] does not strip their ability to access abortion pills,” Trump said “that would be my commitment — yeah, it’s always been my commitment.”
The FDA first approved mifepristone to be used in chemical abortions in 2000. Under current law, the drug is approved to abort an unborn child up to 10 weeks’ gestation, at which point the child has a fetal heartbeat, early brain activity, and partially developed eyes, lips, and nostrils.
Mifepristone kills the child by blocking the hormone progesterone, which cuts off the child’s supply of oxygen and nutrients. A second pill, misoprostol, is taken between 24 to 48 hours after mifepristone to induce contractions meant to expel the child’s body from the mother, essentially inducing labor.
Chemical abortions account for about half of the abortions in the United States every year.
Before Trump committed to maintaining access to the abortion pill, the president-elect went back and forth with the Time reporter, stating that the issue is complex “because you have other people that, you know, they feel strongly both ways, really strongly both ways, and those are the things that are dividing up the country.”
The pledge is a blow to pro-life activists who had urged Trump to use the FDA’s power to enforce a Comstock Act prohibition on the delivery of “obscene” and “vile” products through the mail — which includes the delivery of anything designed to produce an abortion.
Trump, who moderated his position on abortion during the 2024 presidential election, has said the states should determine their own policies on abortion. He said during the campaign that he would not sign a national abortion ban if elected.
Alternatively, Trump has praised the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to restrict abortion and has vowed to free pro-life activists who have been imprisoned for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. He has also said he would consider a ban on federal funding for pro-abortion groups internationally and has vowed to protect religious freedom.
