Students for Life of America (SFLA) has filed a citizens’ petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), asking the agency to prohibit the use of the abortion pill drug mifepristone until further studies have been done to better understand mifepristone’s effect on the environment.
In its petition, SFLA argues that the abortion pill – which now accounts for the majority of all abortions and has been found to be four times as dangerous as first-trimester surgical abortions – is potentially causing harm to critical habitats and endangered species as it is disposed into the waterways.
The petition explains:
SFLA and its members care about the environment, and its members nationwide have a vested interest in protecting the environment from pollution, protecting endangered species and habitats from destruction, and preserving these species and habitats for future generations to see and experience. SFLA seeks to prevent the dumping of Mifepristone into the waterways of the United States and the inevitable harm that has and will continue to result to endangered species.
In a Facebook post, SFLA further detailed its complaint. “Since Mifepristone…was approved in 2000, the FDA has failed five times to test for environmental impacts of chemical abortion. In other words: The FDA SKIPPED over the crucial steps of evaluating the effects of these drugs on the environment FIVE TIMES. Federal agencies proposing actions that could impact ecosystems that are home to endangered species are required to consult with the Services to determine if these actions will harm the list of nearly 1,500 individual species.”
“The FDA has shown itself to be an incredibly lawless agency in disregarding the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and recklessly approving Chemical Abortion Pills in 2000,” said SFLA’s Kristan Hawkins. “FDA officials never checked whether government-sanctioned, corporate dumping of medical waste was hurting our environment. The Pro-Life Generation demands environmental justice for the aquatic, animal, plant, and human lives put at risk by the FDA’s neglect.”
Zachary Kester, general council for SFLA, told POLITICO that it is SFLA’s hope that the petition will force the FDA to start over in its approval of mifepristone as it studies the drug’s environmental impacts, a process that would likely significantly delay its return to the market. He also noted that this petition is different from the abortion pill lawsuit currently being considered by the Supreme Court.
“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,” he said. “We share those concerns about a negligent approval process, adding the failure to protect the environment to the FDA’s legal issues. However, harms to the environment can be addressed with some of the toughest laws on the books, and we are examining all potential remedies.”
