Update: The Senate panel considering the nomination of Robert Califf for commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted Thursday to advance his nomination to the full Senate. The committee voted 13-8, largely along party lines, the New York Times reports, with a few Democrats opposing the nomination, "citing the devastation of the opioid epidemic and Califf’s financial ties to pharmaceutical companies." The date for the Senate’s vote on confirmation has not been set.
A group of nearly 50 pro-life groups sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Wednesday urging opposition the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner. Califf previously held the position in the Obama administration. The letter effort was led by national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List. The nomination is scheduled for a committee vote on Thursday.
During Califf’s tenure the FDA had significantly undermined the reporting and safety requirements for chemical abortion, the groups said.
“In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee last month, Califf was asked about chemical abortion, and did not address his role in weakening safeguards on the drug," the letter reads in part. "Instead, he told the committee that he trusted that any decision made by the FDA would be based on the best available data. There is a cruel irony in the fact that FDA data is ‘woefully inadequate’ data due to Califf’s own decisions while serving as FDA Commissioner during the Obama administration.
“Now the Biden administration seeks your consent to return Dr. Robert Califf to the top spot at the FDA where he will be asked to approve mail-order chemical abortion," it states. "With a track record of rubber-stamping abortion industry demands and with permanent authorization of unsafe mail-order abortion hanging in the balance, Califf is the wrong choice for FDA Commissioner. We urge you to vote no on his nomination.”
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Last month the Biden administration acted to weaken longtime federal safety standards for abortion pills known as REMS (Risk Evaluation Management Strategy). The administration policy permits mail-order abortion pills - dangerous at-home, do-it-yourself abortion without medical oversight.
The FDA's REMS designation is reserved for drugs with serious safety concerns. The REMS had been in place for the abortion pill, mifepristone, since it came on the market in 2000, and had required that the drug only be prescribed by a certified health-care provider and dispensed in a clinic, hospital or medical office. An in-person exam by a physician is necessary to properly determine the gestation of a woman's pregnancy, and to also screen for ectopic pregnancy and other conditions. Without such an exam a woman taking the abortion pill would be at increased risk for complications. The FDA has added the requirement that pharmacies that dispense the drug be specially certified.
The letter also states:
"The in-person requirement is needed to give physicians the opportunity to accurately confirm and date the pregnancy, rule out an ectopic pregnancy, test the woman’s Rh factor, and make certain she is not being coerced into taking the drug regimen."
Chemical abortion is on the rise, comprising an estimated 44% of the abortions occurring in the U.S., and with it the possibility of women experiencing complications.
Heartbeat International, the largest network of pregnancy help organizations in the world, was among the signatories of the letter to the Senate.
Jor-El Godsey, president of Heartbeat International, said it is incumbent on the FDA to ensure public health, and that Califf's previous FDA record signals abortion industry profit is a priority.
"Heartbeat International believes the FDA should be 'protecting the public health' from the evils of chemical abortion," Godsey said. "Unfortunately, nominee Califf seems far more interested in protecting the profits of Big Abortion and not the public health."
SBA List said that it plans to score against Califf should his nomination advance to the full Senate.
The group's president denounced Califf's record and said the FDA should not confirm Califf for the good of women and children.
“Califf has a record of putting the abortion lobby’s extreme agenda ahead of women’s safety and the lives of unborn children. There is little doubt he will permanently authorize mail-order abortions if confirmed to lead the FDA. The Senate must protect mothers and children by rejecting his nomination.”
A recent study authored from Dr. James Studnicki and a team of experts at SBA List's research arm the Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) concluded that chemical abortion is a major public health threat. The study found that the rate of abortion-related emergency room visits following a chemical abortion increased by more than 500% from 2002 through 2015. Looking at 423,000 confirmed abortions, CLI scholars also found that the rate of chemical abortion-related ER visits is growing much faster than surgical abortion-related ER visits, and that chemical abortion makes subsequent abortions more dangerous.
The full list of the letter's signatories is below:
Marjorie Dannenfelser
President
Susan B. Anthony List
Carol Tobias
President
National Right to Life
Kristan Hawkins
President
Students for Life Action
Jeanne Mancini
President
March for Life Education and Defense Fund
Penny Young Nance
CEO and President
Concerned Women for America LAC
Lila Rose
Founder and President
Live Action
Catherine Glenn Foster
President & CEO
Americans United for Life
Craig DeRoche
President & CEO
Family Policy Alliance
Star Parker
President
Center for Urban Renewal and Education
Ryan T. Anderson, Ph.D.
President
The Ethics and Public Policy Center
Brian Burch
President
CatholicVote
Abby Johnson
Founder & CEO
And Then There Were None
Colleen Holcomb
President
Eagle Forum
Jessica Anderson
Executive Director
Heritage Action for America
Donna J. Harrison M.D.
CEO
American Association of Pro-Life
Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Felicia Pricenor, Esq.
Director of Government Affairs
March for Life Action
Jor-El Godsey
President
Heartbeat International
Bradley Mattes
President
Life Issues Institute
Amber S. Haskew
Director of Public Policy
Liberty Counsel Action
Thomas A. Glessner, J.D.
President
National Institute of Family
and Life Advocates (NIFLA)
Travis Weber
Vice President of Policy & Government Affairs
Family Research Council
Austin Ruse
President
Center for Family and Human Rights (C-Fam)
Mr. C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc.
Jordan Sekulow
Executive Director
American Center for Law and Justice
Steven Ertelt
Editor
LifeNews.com
Eric J. Scheidler
Executive Director
Pro-Life Action League
Alexandra Snyder, Esq.
CEO
Life Legal Defense Foundation
David Nammo
Executive Director & CEO
Christian Legal Society
Janet Morana
Executive Director
Priests for Life
Andrew M. Bath
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
Thomas More Society
Tami Fitzgerald
Executive Director
NC Values Coalition
Joshua Edmonds
Executive Director
Georgia Life Alliance
Chuck Hurley
Vice President & Chief Counsel
The FAMiLY Leader
Cheryl Sullenger
Senior Vice President
Operation Rescue
Addia K. Wuchner R.N.
Executive Director
Kentucky Right to Life
Julaine K. Appling
President
Wisconsin Family Action
John Helmberger
Chief Executive Officer
Minnesota Family Council
Michael Gonidakis
President
Ohio Right to Life
Jason J. McGuire
Executive Director
New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms
Esther Ripplinger
President & CEO
Human Life of Washington
Kelsey Hazzard
President
Secular Pro-Life
Zach Rodgers
Executive Director
Right to Life of Northeast Indiana
Deborah Tilden
VP, Founder
S.M.A.R.T. Women’s Healthcare
Gene Mills
President
Louisiana Family Forum
Samuel H. Lee
Director
Campaign Life Missouri
Eva Andrade
President
Hawaii Family Forum
Lois Anderson
Executive Director
Oregon Right to Life
Jonathan Keller
President
California Family Council
John Gerardi
Executive Director
Right to Life of Central California
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network and Pregnancy Help News.
