The Anti-Abortion Movement’s Strategy
The nation’s most influential anti-abortion groups have a new plan to roll back access to the procedure for millions of Americans in what they’re calling the “biggest opportunity for the pro-life movement” since toppling Roe v. Wade.
The effort, which the groups have privately named “Rolling Thunder,” is the movement’s first concerted attempt under the second Trump administration to target abortion pills, and aims to convince the FDA, Congress and courts to crack down on their use.
Challenging the Status Quo
While the Trump administration paid little attention to the medication in its first months in office, and even filed a court brief to preserve access, the activists are counting on a report from the conservative think tank Ethics and Public Policy Center to light a fire under those in power.
The paper, published last week, purports to show significantly more patients have experienced serious side effects after taking mifepristone than previously known. Medical experts and abortion-right supporters say it exaggerates the danger of a medication that more than 100 scientific studies have found are safe and effective.
Political Maneuvering
The groups also hope to wield the report to pressure Congress to strip the remaining federal funding from Planned Parenthood — which they consider the country’s best-known purveyor of the drugs — and give conservative legal groups fodder to prosecute doctors who prescribe the pills to patients who live in states with abortion bans.
Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley told POLITICO he plans to introduce legislation — inspired by the groups’ report — that would restrict access to the pills and make it easier for patients who have taken them to sue the manufacturers, Danco and GenBioPro. He is also joining the groups’ pressure campaign on the FDA.
Changing the Narrative
Planned Parenthood and other abortion-rights supporters are slamming the report as “junk science” as they mount their own pressure campaign to save their funding — highlighting that the paper was released directly by the conservative think tank and not published in a medical journal where it would have been vetted by outside experts in the peer review process.
Dr. Christina Francis, the CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNs and member of the coalition of conservative doctors that challenged the 25-year-old FDA approval of the pills, also warned the groups not to misrepresent the paper, noting that is is “not a study in the traditional sense” and “not conclusive proof of anything.” Still, she and others argued it’s valid evidence that merits further research and immediate government action.
Future Plans
The anti-abortion activists stressed on their Zoom call that while they are publicly calling for the restoration of previous federal restrictions on the drugs — including bans on online prescriptions and mail delivery of the pills and cutting off their use after seven weeks of pregnancy instead of the current 10 — they view that as only a “first step.” If they achieve that, they plan to keep fighting for the drug to be removed from the market entirely.
Anderson presented three core talking points the groups will use to push Congress and the Trump administration in that direction.
First, that it’s not possible to fulfill Kennedy’s pledge to “Make America Healthy Again” without cutting off access to the pills. Second, that Trump pledged to “reverse damaging policies” enacted by the Biden administration, and that should include FDA rules easing access to the drugs. And third, while President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail to leave regulation of abortion to states, “You’re not leaving it to states if California can mail pills to Texas.”
Government Response
The groups believe the administration will be receptive to their push based on recent remarks by Kennedy and Makary leaving the door open to changing how mifepristone is regulated. Makary said in a speech last week that while he has “no plans” at the moment to roll back access to the drug, that could change.
“I believe as a scientist, that you’ve got to evolve as the data comes in,” he said. “So if the data suggests something or tells us that there’s a real signal, then I — we can’t promise we’re not going to act on that.”
And Kennedy said in his January confirmation hearing and again in a February interview that Trump has asked him to study the drug’s safety.
Counter-Strategies
Groups that support abortion rights are working to counter the “Rolling Thunder” campaign, defend mifepristone as safe and effective and lobby Congress to maintain federal funding for Planned Parenthood and other reproductive health providers.
Progressive advocates, granted anonymity to share deliberations that have not been made public, are pleased the groups’ report has gotten little coverage outside of conservative media and that few GOP lawmakers besides Hawley have promoted it. Still, they are considering writing to the FDA urging the agency to maintain access to the pills. That way, they reason, they can have firmer ground to sue the agency if the Trump administration does impose restrictions on the drugs.
Planned Parenthood’s advocacy arm is also mobilizing to save the hundreds of millions of federal funding it receives each year. The group held more than 100 events in key congressional districts around the country — focusing on the Carolinas, Iowa and Pennsylvania — during Congress’ recesses in March and April.
Conclusion
As the anti-abortion movement and abortion-rights advocates clash over the future of abortion pills, the battle for women’s healthcare intensifies. The Trump administration’s stance on mifepristone regulation remains a contentious issue, with implications for millions of women across the country.
