[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 206 (Thursday, December 14, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6003-S6004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SENATE RESOLUTION 510--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE 
     SCIENTIFIC JUDGEMENT OF THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION THAT 
  MIFEPRISTONE IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE SHOULD BE RESPECTED, AND LAW AND 
   POLICY GOVERNING ACCESS TO LIFESAVING, TIME-SENSITIVE MEDICATION 
  ABORTION CARE IN THE UNITED STATES SHOULD BE EQUITABLE AND BASED ON 
                                SCIENCE

  Ms. WARREN (for herself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Schumer, 
Mr. Heinrich, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
Hickenlooper, Ms. Stabenow, Mr.

[[Page S6004]]

Bennet, Ms. Duckworth, Ms. Cantwell, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
King, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Butler, Mr. Reed, Mr. Carper, Ms. 
Cortez Masto, Mr. Welch, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Sinema, Mr. 
Sanders, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Gillibrand, Ms. Smith, Mr. Schatz, Mr. 
Kelly, Mr. Markey, Ms. Hassan, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Warnock, Mr. Durbin, 
Mr. Booker, and Ms. Klobuchar) submitted the following resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions:

                              S. Res. 510

       Whereas Congress, by enacting the Federal Food, Drug, and 
     Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), authorized the Food and 
     Drug Administration (referred to in this preamble as the 
     ``FDA'') to determine, based on the scientific expertise of 
     the FDA, whether a drug is safe and effective for the 
     intended use of the drug;
       Whereas mifepristone is a medication that can be used to 
     terminate a pregnancy;
       Whereas mifepristone received approval from the FDA more 
     than 20 years ago, and according to the FDA, the ``efficacy 
     and safety [of mifepristone] have become well-established by 
     both research and experience, and serious complications have 
     proven to be extremely rare'';
       Whereas the FDA approved mifepristone following a rigorous 
     54-month review period that included the review of 3 complete 
     phases of clinical trials that involved thousands of 
     participants and whose data showed that mifepristone was safe 
     and effective for termination of an early pregnancy;
       Whereas, in January 2023, after extensive evidence-based 
     review, the FDA approved a modification to the Mifepristone 
     Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy that removed the in-
     person dispensing requirement and added a pharmacy 
     certification requirement, allowing Mifeprex and its approved 
     generic mifepristone, Mifepristone Tablets, 200mg, to be 
     dispensed by certified pharmacies, both in-person and by 
     mail, as well as by or under the supervision of certified 
     prescribers;
       Whereas the FDA relied on overwhelming evidence that 
     medication abortion using mifepristone is a safe and 
     effective method to end a pregnancy;
       Whereas leading medical and scientific organizations, 
     including the World Health Organization, the American Medical 
     Association, the American College of Obstetricians and 
     Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians, 
     recognize that mifepristone is safe and effective and 
     continue to recommend the availability of mifepristone for 
     use in obstetric care;
       Whereas the importance of medication abortion is recognized 
     globally, and the World Health Organization has included 
     mifepristone on its list of essential medicines since 2005;
       Whereas the safety record of mifepristone is demonstrated 
     by its availability in more than 90 countries, including 
     countries without restrictions such as the FDA risk 
     evaluation and mitigation strategy requirement;
       Whereas medication abortion accounted for more than half of 
     all abortions in the United States in 2021;
       Whereas following the decision of the Supreme Court of the 
     United States in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health 
     Organization, 142 S. Ct. 2228 (2022), to overturn decades of 
     precedent in Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), and Planned 
     Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), several States 
     moved to further restrict access to abortion care, 
     compounding an already complex landscape and exacerbating the 
     existing abortion access crisis;
       Whereas, as of December 13, 2023, 17 States have filed 
     bills with antimedication abortion provisions, and multiple 
     States, including Florida, North Carolina, and Wyoming, have 
     enacted restrictions on medication abortion;
       Whereas mere months after the decision of the Supreme Court 
     of the United States to overturn Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 
     (1973), and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992), 
     in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 142 S. Ct. 
     2228 (2022), antiabortion groups have filed baseless claims 
     against the FDA over the approval of mifepristone, in an 
     attempt to remove mifepristone from the market;
       Whereas the impact to the health and well-being of patients 
     across the country would be devastating if mifepristone were 
     taken off the market;
       Whereas abortion bans and restrictions force patients to 
     travel greater distances for care and face longer wait times, 
     and force some patients who are unable to access care to 
     remain pregnant against their will;
       Whereas, if mifepristone is taken off the market, providers 
     may be prevented from treating pregnancy loss using 
     mifepristone, and abortion providers and health care centers 
     may be stretched impossibly thin and be unable to keep up 
     with the demand of patients who need abortion care; and
       Whereas, due to discrimination, unnecessary restrictions on 
     abortion, including medication abortion, disproportionately 
     push care out of reach for----
       (1) Black and Indigenous people;
       (2) people of color;
       (3) immigrants;
       (4) people with lower incomes;
       (5) people in rural communities;
       (6) LGBTQ+ people;
       (7) people living with disabilities; and
       (8) other pregnant people who have been disproportionately 
     harmed by systemic inequities in health care: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that----
       (1) policies governing access to medication abortion care 
     in the United States should be grounded in science and based 
     on scientific review by the Food and Drug Administration of 
     available medical evidence;
       (2) Congress has granted the Food and Drug Administration 
     the authority to conduct pre-market approvals and post-market 
     reviews of prescription drug medications and medical devices 
     based on scientific determinations of their safety and 
     efficacy, and without interference from other branches of 
     government at the Federal, State, and local levels;
       (3) the Food and Drug Administration has performed 
     scientific reviews of mifepristone, and in the 2000 approval 
     and subsequent regulatory actions in 2011, 2016, 2019, and 
     2023, the Food and Drug Administration found mifepristone to 
     be safe and effective for women seeking abortions; and
       (4) medication abortion is an important method to ensure 
     equitable access to abortion for patients harmed by 
     statutory, regulatory, financial, and circumstantial 
     restrictions that have worsened reproductive health 
     disparities for----
       (A) Black and Indigenous people;
       (B) people of color;
       (C) immigrants;
       (D) people with lower incomes;
       (E) people in rural communities;
       (F) LGBTQ+ people;
       (G) people living with disabilities; and
       (H) people in other marginalized communities.

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