Harrison argues that SCOTUS has the authority to make FDA accountable for chemical abortion risks

(Editor’s Note: The following opinion column contains graphic descriptions, which some readers may find disturbing.)

OPINION

In August of last year, a federal appeals court once again criticized the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for jeopardizing the health, safety, and well-being of women and girls.

With the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled to review the case on March 26, the FDA appears to be staunchly defending its reckless actions.

As an obstetrician and gynecologist who has challenged the FDA’s removal of critical safety standards for chemical abortion, I welcomed the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In this case, filed by lawyers from Alliance Defending Freedom, the court held the FDA accountable for unlawfully eliminating important protections for women and girls using abortion drugs, and the Supreme Court should do the same.

Regardless of one’s stance on abortion, those concerned about women’s health should be optimistic if the Fifth Circuit’s decision is upheld, as women deserve the personal care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs.

Chemical abortion drugs are inherently risky, especially when doctors are not required to conduct in-person visits and physical exams to monitor women for ectopic pregnancies, severe bleeding, infections, and other complications that may arise from chemical abortions.

Due to the FDA’s negligent removal of crucial safeguards, the physical distance between a woman seeking these drugs and the dispenser prevents any medical evaluation from occurring.

The FDA doesn’t mandate a doctor’s involvement, and virtual ultrasounds are not possible.

Without an ultrasound, it’s impossible to accurately determine a woman’s gestational age. Surgical intervention becomes more necessary as the pregnancy progresses, making accurate gestational age crucial, but absent in the FDA’s doctor-less, mail-order abortion process.

Without an ultrasound or exam, there is no way to confirm the absence of an ectopic pregnancy.

Even Planned Parenthood admits that “being examined by a doctor is the only way to confirm an ectopic pregnancy,” yet the FDA no longer requires doctors to see women in person who take abortion drugs.

Instead, women are permitted to take these drugs knowing that the symptoms of a rupturing ectopic pregnancy can mimic the pain and bleeding from a chemical abortion.

In essence, taking abortion drugs could mask the signs of a woman’s rupturing ectopic pregnancy and prevent her from seeking urgent medical care for life-threatening bleeding.

She may find herself in a critical situation alone in her location, far from emergency medical services and without medical support.

The exact number of women who have been injured, killed, or traumatized by chemical abortions is unknown.

This is because no entity, including the FDA, has effectively monitored the complications and fatalities resulting from this drug regimen. In fact, the FDA eliminated a previous requirement for prescribers to report non-fatal adverse events.

A woman could experience severe bleeding and require resuscitation multiple times, yet the FDA chooses not to collect data on her traumatic experience.

However, the Supreme Court will be informed.

One brief filed in support of our case with the Court shared the story of one woman who used these abortion drugs, stating, “Within an hour, I realized that everything the doctor told me was a lie.

“I was bleeding profusely, thinking I was dying. I passed clots the size of baseballs and experienced the most excruciating pain of my life, worse than childbirth.

“The most traumatic part was when I felt something unusual pass while sitting on the toilet. I looked down and saw my baby. It had a head, body, and tiny arms and legs.”

Another woman recounted this experience, “When the cramps became unbearable, I made my way to the bathroom. I locked the door and endured the most intense pain I had ever felt. I sat on the toilet, doubled over in pain.

“I grabbed a towel to bite on to stifle my screams and was on the verge of passing out. As I stood up, I saw blood everywhere. I saw parts of my baby, an image that will forever haunt me.”

The FDA’s own label states that approximately one in 25 women taking abortion drugs will end up in the emergency room.

Women deserve better treatment from the FDA.

This is why doctors are holding the FDA accountable for repeatedly neglecting its fundamental duties to women.

We hope that the Supreme Court will compel the FDA to prioritize women’s health and uphold the Fifth Circuit’s recent ruling to prevent countless women from harm.

Dr. Donna Harrison is the chair of the board for the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and former CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists.