Researchers at the Charlotte Lozier Institute published a new analysis on October 6 arguing that the Food and Drug Administration lacks adequate justification to eliminate the requirement for in-person dispensing of abortion medication. The study, released in Issues in Law and Medicine, contends that current regulatory approvals for mail-order distribution are not supported by sufficient clinical evidence.
Zachery Sluzala and Ingrid Skop, the report’s authors, concluded that FDA studies failed to account for real-world usage conditions. They further asserted that the agency relied on data from entities with political motivations and utilized flawed systems for reporting adverse events.
Federal Court Monitors Safety Review Timeline
The publication coincides with a federal judge in Louisiana ordering an update on the FDA’s ongoing safety review of mifepristone. The agency has stated it anticipates preliminary findings by mid-December, with a comprehensive final report scheduled for March 2027. This deadline arrives more than a year and a half after the agency initially committed to conducting the review.
Pro-life advocates expressed concern over the extended timeline. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, described the agency’s progress as alarming. Kristan Hawkins, leader of Students for Life of America, noted that mifepristone received approval in 2000 and questioned the necessity of such a prolonged evaluation period.
Erin Hawley, a spokeswoman for Alliance Defending Freedom, warned that delays endanger unborn children in states where mail-order abortion drugs are illegal. She estimated that 15,000 additional babies face risk each month under current distribution practices.
Study Reveals Gaps in College Support for Pregnant Students
In separate research, the Demetree Institute examined more than 500 state colleges and universities to assess resources available to pregnant and parenting students. The study found that hundreds of institutions fail to provide adequate support. On average, campuses offered barely half of the recommended accommodations.
Ninety-eight percent of schools lacked at least two recommended supports. More than 70 percent did not provide on-campus housing for families, and approximately 85 percent failed to offer scholarships specifically targeted at pregnant or parenting students. Dalton State College in Georgia, Dakota State University in South Dakota, and Concord University in West Virginia ranked as the lowest-performing institutions in the survey.
Men’s March and Scottish Bishops Address Abortion
A national gathering of men is scheduled for November 1 in Boston. The National Men’s March to Abolish Abortion and Rally for Personhood, which began in 2021, will see participants walk three miles to a central rally point. Jim Havens, the march’s president, stated that the event aims to move men from the sidelines into active advocacy for equal protection of the preborn.
In Scotland, bishops have issued warnings against a legislative proposal that would decriminalize abortion and permit the procedure up to birth for any reason. Bishop John Keenan, who heads the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland’s Marriage, Family and Life Commission, is among those opposing the measure.