Chambana Sun

Congresswoman Mary Miller of Illinois’s 15th district has introduced the Restoring Safeguards for Dangerous Abortion Drugs Act. The bill follows Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announcement of a new review of abortion pills, including mifepristone.

The legislation seeks to reinstate in-person medical requirements for mifepristone, ending its mail-order distribution. This method is currently used in nearly two-thirds of abortions in the United States. The House bill is a companion to Senator Josh Hawley’s measure in the Senate.

A study that reviewed over 865,000 chemical abortions found that almost 11% of women who took mifepristone experienced serious complications within 45 days, such as sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or an emergency room visit. This rate is significantly higher than the less than 0.5% adverse event rate listed on the FDA-approved drug label.

“Chemical abortion drugs are dangerous, and women are suffering life-threatening complications because critical safeguards were recklessly removed,” said Congresswoman Mary Miller. “It is time to restore commonsense protections, guarantee adequate medical care for women, and hold Big Abortion accountable for putting profit over safety.”

Mifepristone was first approved by the Clinton administration in 2000 with strict safety protocols. In subsequent years, changes made during the Obama and Biden administrations reduced these requirements by allowing fewer doctor visits and enabling telehealth prescriptions and mail delivery.

The proposed act would require that mifepristone be prescribed only by physicians and dispensed in person at clinical settings with mandatory safety checkups. It would also allow women who suffer harm from using mifepristone to sue those involved in mailing the drug—including telehealth providers and pharmacies—in federal or state court for damages. Additionally, it would ban foreign companies from importing or mailing mifepristone into the United States.

Cosponsors of the bill include Representatives Barry Moore (R-AL), Sheri Biggs (R-SC), Randy Weber (R-TX), and Pat Harrigan (R-NC). Supporting organizations are American Family Project, American Principles Project, Eagle Forum, Moms for America, Students for Life, National Right to Life, and Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.

Mary Miller has served as U.S. Representative for Illinois’ 15th district since replacing John Shimkus in 2021. She won her seat by defeating Paul Lange in 2022 with over 71% of the vote and Erika Weaver in 2020 with more than 73%.

Further information about this legislation can be found at Washington Examiner.