A hallmark of America’s unique government is our historic concern for checks and balances, but the pro-life movement is increasingly becoming frustrated over the scales of power seemingly being tipped in favor of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In our fight against Chemical Abortion Pills (which now account for more than half of all United States abortions), it has become apparent that this federal agency wields far too much power — and it certainly doesn’t look like it always uses such authority fairly or ethically. 

A recent USA Today article entitled “From COVID Meds to Abortion. Why Conservatives are Fighting the FDA’s Power to Regulate Drugs” dug into this problem on a wider scale, examining the fact that the FDA’s authority is currently being challenged in multiple lawsuits. These cases have arisen after doctors in different areas of medicine have claimed that the federal agency overstepped their bounds or appeared to pick winners and losers based on politics. 

Author John Fritze cites multiple cases in which the FDA’s authority or decision-making was questionable. The agency is under fire for giving medical advice regarding Ivermectin treating COVID cases; for being staunchly against e-cigarettes despite allowing cigarettes (which are arguably more documented in causing health problems); and for fast-tracking the Chemical Abortion Pills without cause, leading to women, preborn children, and the environment being harmed. 

(Click HERE to read another Students for Life of America blog entitled “The FDA Flunks Science AGAIN: DayQuil Has Been Debunked for Hurting Not Helping…Now Do Chemical Abortion Pills.”) 

Representing the doctors and medical groups which are opposing the FDA in this manner, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Erik Baptist told USA Today that “no agency is above the law,” and “politics have pervaded the FDA’s actions on mifepristone from the beginning.” 

Students for Life of America (SFLA) has been pushing back against the FDA’s approval and treatment of the abortion drugs for years, including a unique focus on the agency’s dismissal the environmental concerns of Chemical Abortion Pills. SFLA filed a Citizen Petition (along with two others) on this matter at the FDA, noting the ongoing dangers of such a reckless approval toward our environment, animals, water, and food supply. 

SFLA documented the FDA’s history of careless approval towards Chemical Abortion Pills in an earlier press release, writing: 

“First, the FDA slapped a cover memo accepting the 1996 Environmental Assessment submitted by the Population Council, which would profit from the drugs, without further research. They accepted the general opinion that the littering of the package was the main environmental concern. But with each change in the health and safety standards, that error was compounded, meaning that the FDA failed FIVE TIMES to examine the risks to the environment in 2000, 2016, 2019, 2021, and 2023.” 

SFLA Legal Counsel Zac Kester explained, “Each time the FDA removed or altered the 2000 health and safety standards, they permitted the polluting of the environment…This citizen petition addresses mifepristone differently than the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) case that brilliantly details the reckless approval process that’s impacting women, especially minors. We share those concerns about a negligent approval process, adding the failure to protect the environment to the FDA’s legal issues.” 

As the FDA is being called out on their use of power in several different areas, it remains to be seen whether the agency will be taken to task for allegedly exceeding their bounds and playing politics, instead of protecting people. That’s up to the courts to decide — but in the meantime, we will continue to call them to account. Whether they like it or not, the FDA is no god-figure. It’s time they started acting like it.

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