The rift between the pro-life movement and the Trump administration appears to be widening, as the Department of Justice continues to resist state-level efforts to restrict the availability of abortion pills.
Last year, Florida and Texas filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over its approval of the abortion drug mifepristone. On Monday, the DOJ asked a federal judge to either dismiss the suit or delay a ruling while the FDA completes a new safety review of the drug, which was originally approved in 2000 and made available by mail during the Covid era under the Biden administration.
“It’s a disgrace that pro-life states like Florida and Texas are having to fight the Trump-Vance administration in court to uphold their laws and that extremists like Gavin Newsom are being allowed to dictate their policy,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, said in a statement. “The Trump-Vance DOJ has clearly established a policy of siding with the abortion industry as it breaks laws, kills babies and harms women and girls.”
The FDA approved a generic version of mifepristone and misoprostol in October but did not reverse the Biden-era mail-order abortion policy, which allows women to obtain the drugs without an in-person medical visit. The lawsuits brought by Texas and Florida are among several legal challenges by red states questioning the safety and accessibility of mifepristone.
Just last week, the DOJ moved to dismiss a separate case, Missouri v. FDA, arguing that pro-life states and women alleging harm from the drugs lack legal standing.
Public opinion among Republicans heavily favors restrictions on mail-order abortion drugs. A nationwide Cyngal survey found that 80 percent of Republican voters believe the FDA should require in-person appointments before dispensing abortion pills, and 71 percent oppose continuing the Biden-era mail-order policy.
“Florida and Texas are the two biggest pro-life states in the country, with laws that protect more than 100,000 lives a year combined. But these laws cannot protect vulnerable people and the public health as long as the federal government is undermining them by leaving Biden’s mail-order abortion drug rule in place,” Dannenfelser said.
She added, “This motion to dismiss is a slap in the face to red state allies everywhere, the MAHA movement, and Republicans’ deeply loyal pro-life base. Our field team is on the ground in key battleground states, talking to voters at their doorsteps every day. Just eight months from midterms, the peril for the GOP is serious and growing.”
In December, SBA Pro-Life America called for the firing of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, citing concerns that he “slow-walked” the agency’s abortion pill safety review. Bloomberg reported that Makary, along with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., promised lawmakers and state attorneys general that the FDA was compiling a safety study on mifepristone and misoprostol but instructed officials to stall the review.
The issue intersects with broader GOP debates on abortion policy. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump encouraged Republican lawmakers to consider flexibility on the Hyde Amendment, a federal law prohibiting federal funds from being used for abortions, in order to advance his broader health care agenda. However, voters remain strongly supportive of the amendment. According to Cyngal, 79 percent of Republican voters want to maintain the Hyde Amendment, and 30 percent said reduced support could dampen their enthusiasm to vote in the 2026 midterms.
