Since deregulation, mail-in abortions have been largely responsible for driving up the number of abortions in the US, accounting for 63% of terminations carried out in 2023.
In states where pro-life laws have been enacted, citizens are still able to receive mifepristone by mail.
However, so far no action has been taken by the Trump administration to increase restrictions. Instead, in the same month as the study was announced, the FDA approved a generic version of the drug.
Trump Appointee Reassures Pro-Life Organizations
After his appointment, Diamantas called pro-life organizations this week to reassure them of his commitment on life issues, with March for Life President Jennie Bradley Lichter and Live Action President Lila Rose confirming he has spoken to them or is scheduled to.
Lichter told EWTN News she spoke with Diamantas about her concerns with mifepristone, specifically about “the lack of safety, the lack of guardrails, [and] its easy availability”.
Based on her conversation, Lichter said “I think weʼre going to see real movement” regarding the FDA’s study.
However, other commentaros have struck a more cautious note. Mark Harrington, president of Created Equal, said he had not received a call from Diamantas and expressed hesitations about his leadership of the FDA, saying his efforts “could just be viewed as nothing more than damage control”.
Harrington expressed concern about the fact that, according to court records, Diamantas represented an affiliate to US abortion provider Planned Parenthood.
Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to President Donald Trump, dismissed the concern in a post on X, saying he was a junior associate assigned to the case, which related to a property dispute, but removed himself because of his pro-life beliefs.
Following Makary’s resignation, pro-life advocates doubled down on their calls for the Trump administration to reinstate in-person requirements and pushed for stronger anti-abortion policy.
Tension and Clashes
The Republican President’s second term has been marked by tension and clashes with the pro-life community over the failure to act on the abortion pill, continued funding for Planned Parenthood and the administration’s promotion of in-vitro fertilization (IVF).
When US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr launched a government-sponsored website aimed at improving fertility, mom.com, analysts largely praised the initiative for its pro-family and pro-fertility approach.
However, Kennedy raised the ire of pro-life advocates for describing the resource as a “one-stop shopping for IVF”, as well as prenatal care and similar fertility-related practices, at an 11 May press conference.
Pro-life advocate Lila Rose hit back on X the following day, saying “IVF turns children into a product to be created, sold and discarded - violating their basic human rights”.
Meanwhile, almost a week after the website was launched, the US Labor department proposed a rule that would create a category of limited excepted benefits that covers fertility-related healthcare, including IVF.
The proposed rule does not impose any mandates but instead creates more options for employers to provide coverage for IVF and other fertility-related treatments.
Pro-Life Community Divided
These developments pose a real challenge to the pro-life movement, which has struggled to maintain unity and a clear focus since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, leaving abortion regulation to individual states.
President Trump has previously expressed his belief that abortion should be legal with some restrictions.
His views and the actions of his administration highlight a divide in the pro-life movement between those seeking an outright ban and those who believe abortion law should be left to the states, without any federal mandate to legalize it.
The number of abortions in the US has continued to rise, with 2024 seeing the highest number in recent years. Some 1.14 million abortions were carried out according to data released on Monday by #WeCount, a Society of Family Planning project.
Projections on the number of abortions carried out in 2025 suggest the figure will remain around the same, at 1.13 million.
