Karoline Leavitt Defends the Trump FDA’s Approval of Abortion Drug
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took a question Friday about the Republican revolt over the Trump administration’s approval of a generic abortion pill.
The FDA approved the generic version of the popular abortion drug mifepristone this week. President Donald Trump campaigned on an anti-abortion platform, and the approval rankled lawmakers like Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO).
“This is shocking. FDA has just approved ANOTHER chemical abortion drug, when the evidence shows chemical abortion drugs are dangerous and even deadly for the mother. And of course 100% lethal to the child,” Hawley wrote on X Thursday. “FDA had promised to do a top-to-bottom safety review of the chemical abortion drug, but instead they’ve just greenlighted new versions of it for distribution. I have lost confidence in the leadership at FDA.”
A reporter asked Leavitt on Friday, “The FDA just approved that new abortion pill. A lot of uproar from Republicans. What is the president’s response and administration to have that FDA approval?”
“The secretary of Health and Human Services, Bobby Kennedy, has put out several statements on this,” answered Leavitt. “The HHS’s decision is not an endorsement of this drug by any means. They are simply following the law.”
She continued:
And as they put out in their statement, “By law, the secretary of Health and Human Services must approve a generic drug application if the application demonstrates the generic drug is the quote, ‘same,’ as the brand-name drug. Generic applicants are not required to submit independent evidence proving safety and effectiveness. As such, the FDA’s decision to approve a second generic version does not address the merits of the current safety program. HHS is reviewing adverse effects to ensure the FDA’s required safety program for the drug is sufficient to protect women. The safety review equally applies to generic versions of this drug.”
She summed up, “So, FDA and HHS are following the law. Again, it’s not an endorsement of the drug itself.”
