The Justice Department said Tuesday that Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be shipped through the mail do not infringe on a state’s ability to protect the unborn.
The position was taken in a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952.51.0_1.pdf">court filing</a> asking a judge not to grant a request from Louisiana to block the current regulations that allow mifepristone to be sent through the mail. The filing said that the FDA was currently reviewing the safety standards for mifepristone, and a ruling blocking the current standard could be “disruptive.” 
“Louisiana suffers no sovereign injury because it remains free to make and enforce its pro-life policies after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Org,” the Justice Department said. “Nor are Defendants standing in the way of Louisiana enforcing its abortion laws against out-of- state prescribers of mifepristone.”
Louisiana and a woman named Rosalie Markezich sued the FDA last November, seeking to have a judge suspend the FDA’s current Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy standards for mifepristone. Markezich says she was coerced into taking abortion pills illegally ordered and sent into Louisiana by her ex-boyfriend. 
A White House official told The Daily Wire that nothing in the filing should be construed as the White House “defending&#8221; former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration&#8217;s abortion drug policies.
“We’ve been very clear we have issues with that as well,” the White House official noted, saying that the Trump administration has raised issues with mifepristone, which is why it was conducting a study into mifepristone. 
“Legally speaking, it’s a question of standing,” the official said. “All we are really saying with this filing is, let’s not short-circuit this process, and let the agency, that is doing what a lot of the pro-life groups want, let them do what they’ve been tasked to do, and let that process play out.” 
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-a-leftist-network-of-websites-floods-red-states-with-abortion-pills-with-no-consequences-2">previously reported</a>, leftist activists have been shipping abortion pills into states all across the country, even in red states like Louisiana, where medication abortions are technically illegal. This mailing of abortion pills, which was greenlit by the Biden administration as a COVID measure, has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/despite-dobbs-more-babies-are-still-being-aborted-in-the-united-states">fueled an increase</a> in abortions across the country after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. 
Shield laws passed in states like California and New York have been enacted, preventing Republican attorneys general from being able to prosecute the doctors sending abortion pills into their states. States like Louisiana say the FDA regulations give pro-abortion doctors the cover to ship the pills. 
Both FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have said that they are conducting a study on the abortion pill, but pro-life advocates and lawmakers have demanded quicker action. 
“Given this widespread debate over the safety of mifepristone, FDA has concluded that the best path forward is for the agency to reconsider the restrictions on mifepristone based on all the evidence before the agency,” the Justice Department said on Tuesday. “As noted above, that evidence will include FDA’s own study.”
The department also said that a ruling by a judge to block the current mifepristone regulations would “threaten to short circuit the agency’s orderly review and study of the safety risks of mifepristone by asking this Court for an immediate stay of the 2023 REMS Modification approved three years ago.”
When reached for comment, the Justice Department said that it was committed to President Donald Trump&#8217;s pro-life agenda.
“This Department of Justice remains committed to advancing President Trump’s pro-life agenda, including through dismissing criminal prosecutions and civil lawsuits against peaceful pro-life advocates targeted by the previous administration, and using the FACE Act to protect pro-life pregnancy centers,&#8221; a spokesman told The Daily Wire. &#8220;In this filing, the Department of Justice simply requested more time from the court for the FDA to complete its review of mifepristone REMS. As the Supreme Court recognized in a unanimous ruling less than two years ago, it is the role of the FDA – not the federal courts – to evaluate drug safety data and impose appropriate precautions.”
The department asserted that neither Louisiana nor Markezich was facing any immediate harm from the current regulations. The Alliance Defending Freedom, which is defending Markezich, disagreed. 
“Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, the Biden-era abortion-by-mail scheme has allowed thousands of abortion drugs to flow into Louisiana each year. We&#8217;re calling on the FDA to put a stop to it,” ADF wrote on X. “Yesterday, they submitted their reply brief in our lawsuit, Louisiana v. FDA. With [Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill] we’re asking the Court to end illegal mail-order abortions now. They agree that Biden’s scheme is unlawful, but they want to spend another year or more conducting a study. Justice delayed is justice denied. Stand with Rosalie and the State of Louisiana.”
Murrill <a href="https://x.com/AGLizMurrill/status/2016566792412365188">said</a> that the filing shows that the FDA admits the current regulations are “flawed but claims that Louisiana can’t sue to stop the 1,000 dangerous abortions a month in Louisiana that the REMS allows. That is an affront to our sovereignty and the dignity of women and the unborn. FDA should stand with us for life, not with [Gavin Newsom] and [Kathy Hochul].”
The filing was also criticized by Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which has called for Makary’s ousting over his handling of the abortion pill study. 
“Today’s denial of justice by the DOJ is completely unacceptable. It slams the door on women like Rosalie Markezich and their babies, who are suffering very real harm as the Trump-Vance administration refuses to reimplement basic guardrails on deadly mail-order abortion drugs,” said SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “Abortion drugs accessible by mail are killing more Americans than fentanyl, cocaine or heroin combined.”
The FDA told The Daily Wire that it does not comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy.

HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Holds Press Conference On Protecting Children From Harmful Medical Interventions

FDA Claims Mail-Order Abortion Policies Are Not Preventing States From Protecting The Unborn

FDA Says Mail-Order Abortion Policies Not Preventing States From Protecting The Unborn

Abortion

Abortion Drug

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

Department of Justice

Louisiana

Democratic Governor Tim Walz and President Donald Trump have a “productive” conversation as border czar Tom Homan heads to Minnesota, the Minneapolis protests reveal an organized network, and the Food and Drug Administration moves to bring more medication out from behind the counter.
It’s Tuesday, January 27, 2026, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Dispatches Tom Homan To Minnesota</h2>
Amid continued protests, Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz spoke with President Trump, and both parties described the conversation as productive. Meanwhile, the president has sent his border czar, Tom Homan, to help head up the operation in the city. The situation remains tense, however. The protests have ebbed and flowed, but as viral footage from Monday shows, agitators continue to wreak havoc in some areas. In one particularly wild situation in St. Paul, a group of anti-ICE agitators <a href="https://x.com/BMWQQ17/status/2015654020086464966">attempted</a> to break into a Home2Suites, where they thought immigration agents were staying. There was only one officer there to fend off the mob. That Bureau of Prisons officer ended up bloodied and <a href="https://x.com/LeftismForU/status/2015649706869706809">asking</a> where in the world were the local police? Several sources within the federal government told <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-trump-administrations-growing-divide-over-mass-deportation-raids">The Daily Wire</a> that they’re happy Homan will be coming because they’re losing trust in Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem – not only because of her rush to call Alex Pretti a “domestic terrorist,” but also her assertion he showed up armed and with ammo on Saturday &#8220;to inflict maximum damage on individuals and to kill law enforcement.&#8221;
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Minneapolis Protestor Network Exposed</h2>
After Border Patrol shot and killed 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti, questions are mounting about the sophisticated network behind anti-immigration enforcement demonstrations. The picture coming into focus is more structured activism operating through layered networks on the ground in Minneapolis. Some are local, some regional, and some are tied to national left-wing movements. The networks that <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/far-left-network-helped-put-alex-pretti-harms-way-made-him-martyr">Pretti was reportedly involved with</a> rely heavily on encrypted messaging platforms, especially Signal, to coordinate movement in real time, essentially sharing locations of federal vehicles, hotels housing agents, and enforcement activity. According to the Signal materials leaked from these groups, protestors take shifts, and operations run 24/7, with dispatch calls maxing out at 50 people at a time. They divide their patrol zones into districts and guide &#8220;ICE chasers&#8221; on positioning.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Expanding Over-The-Counter Drugs</h2>
The FDA has launched a new initiative to get more drugs available over the counter, moving away from the current “prescription-only” system. According to FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, there will still be safeguards on drugs as necessary; this will apply to the many drugs that could be safely accessed over the counter but currently aren’t. The goals are to lower healthcare costs by eliminating middlemen and to make it easier for people to get the medications they need. Makary told Morning Wire that the initiative is a “common sense reform that is long overdue,” addressing an archaic system, the prescription-only system, that is simply not working.

MRN_260127_V1

Morning Brief: Trump Deploys Homan, Anti-ICE Network Revealed, & Rx Shake-Up

Morning Brief: Homan To Minneapolis, Protest Network Exposed, And Expanding Over-The-Counter Meds

Donald Trump

Minneapolis

Minnesota

Morning Wire

Tom Homan

When the Food and Drug Administration announced that the agency would be removing the black-box warning from hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, women everywhere threw their hands up in celebration.
And rightly so. America’s health agencies are finally acknowledging that women are not simply “little men,” and that research and clinical care must account for a woman’s unique biology and hormonal fluctuations across every stage of life.
But amid the cheering, some important nuance is being overlooked. The FDA’s decision to remove the black-box warning from HRT is just one example of how recommendations offered without adequate context or distinction may do more harm than good.
The idea that estrogen supplementation is a cure-all for the symptoms women commonly experience during perimenopause and menopause — hot flashes, disrupted sleep, fatigue, muscle aches, inflammation, weight gain, bloating, and mood swings — is a myth.
Often, women are not suffering from a lack of estrogen, but from what <a href="https://www.healthygutgirl.com/">Kitty Martone</a>, a holistic health educator who works with women to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1426024567689906">navigate perimenopause and menopause</a>, refers to as <a href="https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/what-is-estrogen-dominance/">estrogen dominance</a> — a state in which estrogen outweighs progesterone, producing symptoms that look identical to low estrogen.
Estrogen does not act in isolation, but the details are rarely explained to women. To be tolerated well, estrogen must be balanced by adequate progesterone and supported by a healthy metabolic rate. For many women, progesterone is the first hormone to decline — often years before estrogen meaningfully drops — due to chronic stress, under-eating, thyroid suppression, and blood sugar instability.
This creates a common paradox: estrogen may appear “normal,” or even low, on a lab test, yet functionally feel excessive in the body because there is not enough progesterone to counterbalance its effects. Women are then told they are estrogen-deficient and prescribed more estrogen, while symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, migraines, heavy or irregular bleeding, bloating, and inflammation intensify rather than improve.
In these cases, simply prescribing more estrogen does not resolve symptoms. In fact, it can make them worse.
These mechanisms were not understood properly during the Women’s Health Initiative study, which was abruptly halted in the early 2000s upon a suggested correlation between HRT and breast cancer as well as heart disease. In an effort to recover from the fallout of the highly <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10758198/">flawed study</a>, which caused millions of women to abandon hormone therapy altogether, the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction.
Cue the pharmaceutical ads: dancing women in sunflower meadows, singing about how wonderful life is with the latest HRT option. The fine print instructs women to “ask your doctor if it’s right for you,” but many doctors may not be properly equipped to offer nuanced guidance.
Over the past few decades, medical visits have been reduced to 15–20 minute symptom reviews that are translated into billing codes entered into a computer. While this system serves insurance and data collection, it fails to treat women as whole individuals. It leaves little room to explore how diet, stress, thyroid function, gut health, or metabolic status influence hormonal symptoms — particularly in perimenopausal women.
Martone argues that this system has created an environment where estrogen is prescribed casually, without sufficient context. “Doctors now essentially have carte blanche to prescribe estrogen for any hormone complaint — without evaluating detox pathways, metabolism, liver function, or estrogen clearance.”
Some clinicians have been cautioning against this oversimplification for decades. <a href="https://raypeat.com/">Dr. Ray Peat</a>, who studied hormones, metabolism, and stress physiology extensively, <a href="https://raypeat.com/articles/aging/aging-estrogen-progesterone.shtml">wrote about</a> how estrogen tends to accumulate under conditions of chronic stress and low thyroid function, while progesterone plays a stabilizing, protective role for both the nervous system and bodily tissues.
In plain terms, how a woman feels on hormones can have less to do with hormone levels and more to do with improper functioning of the liver, metabolism, and stress load at the time therapy is introduced. Two women can take the same prescription and have completely different outcomes — not because one is “doing it wrong,” but because their internal terrain is different.
This helps explain why so many women feel dismissed when HRT is presented as a simple solution. When symptoms worsen, they are often told to increase the dose or switch brands, rather than step back and ask whether the body is prepared to handle additional estrogen.
Martone emphasizes that women often need to experiment with hormones to discover individualized therapies that are right for them. Even low doses may require careful adjustment, alternative delivery methods, and significant trial and error — an experience that can be costly, frustrating, and far from straightforward.
Meanwhile, big pharmaceutical companies are circling middle-aged women like sharks around blood. With the FDA’s decision, they’ve gained an expanded customer base — one encouraged to start hormone therapy earlier and remain on it for decades.
The truth is no one — not even a doctor — can predict exactly how a woman will respond to HRT. Hormones are powerful biological signals, not cosmetic fixes. Their effects depend heavily on the body’s metabolic health, stress physiology, and ability to process and clear them.
The renewed interest in hormone therapy reflects a real and valid desire for relief for women. But before removing warning labels and declaring HRT a universal solution, it’s worth asking why those cautions existed in the first place.
Hormone replacement therapy is not a magic bullet. Women deserve care that honors complexity, not just convenience.
* * *
Jennifer Galardi is a Senior Policy Analyst for Restoring American Wellness in Heritage’s DeVos Center.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Nurse talks with female patient about prescription medication

What The FDA Doesn’t Tell Women About Hormone Replacement Therapy

Big Pharma

Doctors

Health Care

Heritage Foundation

Pharmaceuticals

Women

In the post-Roe landscape, pro-life advocates can now effectively work to impose tough restrictions on abortions in states across the nation – but it’s not enough. And that has everything to do with the proliferation of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/despite-dobbs-more-babies-are-still-being-aborted-in-the-united-states">abortion pill mifepristone</a>, and how it continues to be prescribed throughout the nation. 
“This is the Wild West, and this is the greatest public health crisis,” Live Action founder Lila Rose told The Daily Wire on Thursday. “The on-demand sale of the abortion pill via our mail system is the biggest public health crisis that we are facing.”
Restrictions on the pill have become wildly lax. During the Biden years, for example, mifepristone was permitted to be sent through the mail. Now, more than 60% of all abortions include abortion pills, a significant increase from past years. 
Pro-lifers want the pill taken off the market, not only for killing unborn humans, but because of how dangerous they say the pill is for women, especially when guardrails are virtually nonexistent. 
“There are thousands of women going to the emergency room with severe health complications, and sometimes life-threatening health complications because of the abortion pill,” Rose said. “There are hundreds of thousands of children being killed in this country annually by the abortion pill. It&#8217;s our biggest public health crisis.”
“The report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center proves that one out of every 24 women are landing in the emergency room, that there are severe health complications for one out of every 10 women,” Rose continued. “<a href="https://www.liveaction.org/news/live-action-investigative-report-video-abortion-pill">Live Action’s investigation</a> that just broke [Thursday] proves that Planned Parenthood is not checking gestational age, they are not providing ultrasounds. They are sending pills across state lines, sending them to the homes of friends of the person who is supposedly purchasing the pill with no follow-up care.”
As The Daily Wire’s Leif Le Mahieu previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/despite-dobbs-more-babies-are-still-being-aborted-in-the-united-states">reported</a>, abortions have continued to rise since 2023. The increase can largely be pinned on abortion-by-mail, even in states with “abortion bans” in place. 
While pro-life advocates like Rose give high praise to the Trump administration for a number of big pro-life victories, they believe the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can do more to address the proliferation of the abortion pill. 
“The FDA can, in a moment, make a rule to ensure that the abortion pill requires at least one doctor&#8217;s visit,” Rose said. “There used to be three required doctor&#8217;s visits, and this was under the Clinton administration, when the pill was illegally under an emergency order fast-tracked in this country and put on the market. So that&#8217;s something the FDA could do tomorrow.”
“The FDA could pull mifepristone used as an abortifacient from the market tomorrow. Approval for that could happen within 24 hours – the administration has everything they need,” she said, adding that state-level data can be reviewed by the FDA. 
Speaking to The Daily Wire on Wednesday, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary stressed that a comprehensive review of the pill is something that will be done, and is currently in the data acquisition phase. However, he said, the science takes time. 
“Some people think that study can be done overnight, but a proper study at any university takes time,” Makary said. “This is, in fact, my background at Johns Hopkins for 22 years. Being on the faculty, we did many of these large studies and sometimes they took a year if we did them right. Now, in the government, there are some delays associated with procurement, acquiring databases – and the government shutdown was definitely a bit of a setback.”
“But we are committed to getting this study done expeditiously, and I can assure you that there are no attempts to delay any such study,” he said. “People deserve to know the answer.”
Hundreds of thousands of pro-lifers are expected in Washington, D.C. Friday for the annual March for Life, where mifepristone will certainly be a topic of discussion. But so will major pro-life wins, which come in large part due to the Trump administration. 
Just one day before the rally, for example, the National Institutes of Health announced that it will end, effective immediately, the use of abortion-derived human fetal tissue in federally-funded research, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-trump-admin-ends-funding-for-research-using-aborted-baby-tissue?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ahead+Of+March+For+Life%2C+Trump+Admin+Ends+Funding+For+Research+Using+Aborted+Baby+Tissue">The Daily Wire</a> first reported. 
“The only ban is on, you have an abortion specifically to terminate the baby, and then the tissue then gets sold, that’s what’s being banned,” NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya told Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro on Thursday. If someone wants to donate tissue from a miscarriage, the NIH can use that for research, he noted. 
“Now that there is better technology, there’s no scientific harm to this, we’re still going to be able to use the science we need, … while at the same time getting rid of this use of aborted fetal tissue which so many people, including me, find morally abhorrent,” Bhattacharya added. 
Rose also praised the Trump administration for major pro-life victories. 
“Certainly the pardoning of the pro-life prisoners last year was a huge win by President Trump,” she told The Daily Wire. “It was also a huge win for Congress to finally remove federal funding from Planned Parenthood for one year – and that was signed, of course, by President Trump. … There have been dozens of Planned Parenthood facilities that are shut down because of the lack of taxpayer funding. Those are historic wins for the movement.”

Demonstrators protest and argue outside the U.S. Supreme

The Battle Over The Abortion Pill 

Dobbs

Mifepristone

Pro-Life Movement

An undercover video released by Live Action ahead of the March for Life appears to show a Planned Parenthood employee telling a woman that ending the life of an unborn child is safer than giving birth.
Investigators with Live Action released an undercover video on Thursday that appears to show Planned Parenthood employees being willing to covertly ship abortion pills, and agreeing to ship pills without confirming the gestational age of the child. The video was released as part of an effort to urge the Trump administration to take action to stop the widespread mailing of the abortion drug across the country.
For the video, Live Action said it made calls to 27 different Planned Parenthood affiliates across the country and asked a number of questions about receiving the abortion drug mifepristone. The video featured recordings of the calls with investigators and Planned Parenthood employees.
In one of the calls, an employee at a Planned Parenthood in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, tells a woman it would be safer for her to end the life of her unborn child through an in-person abortion or abortion pill than to deliver it.
“I mean, I would say like both procedures are really safe and effective, but as with any medical procedure, there are some risks involved,” the employee says in the video, according to Live Action. “Of course, you know, we can talk about that more in detail with, like, a medical care provider just to get more accurate info on that, if that makes sense. But I know they’re like, they’re like, certainly like, safer than, like, you know, carrying to term, I’d say as far as that goes.”  
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
NEW Live Action undercover exposé into Planned Parenthood 🚨
We called Planned Parenthood undercover to expose their reckless distribution of the abortion pill.
Here&#8217;s what we found:<a href="https://twitter.com/FDA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FDA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> <a href="https://t.co/lZUwCU1UCa">pic.twitter.com/lZUwCU1UCa</a>
— Live Action (@LiveAction) <a href="https://twitter.com/LiveAction/status/2014367975554556078?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 22, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In another video from St. Cloud, Minnesota, a Planned Parenthood employee said to a woman that she couldn’t quite tell her what she would see after taking abortion pills.
“You’re pregnant, so the abortion, you will be bleeding and cramping and blood clots to get rid of the pregnancy or get rid of the baby, you know, the pregnancy,” the person said on the call.
In other videos, individuals identified as Planned Parenthood employees by Live Action told women they wouldn’t need to get ultrasounds before getting mailed abortion pills or need follow-up appointments after taking the pills.
“Do I have to have an ultrasound?” the Live Action investigator asks a person identified as a Planned Parenthood employee in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“So, if you don’t want an ultrasound, if you’re OK not getting one, we can go ahead and move forward,” the unidentified employee responded, according to the recording published by Live Action.
In Portland, the investigator was told she could get the pills sent to her in a “confidential manner.”
“Can I do this without my parents knowing?” the Live Action investigator asked.
“Yeah, we can set it up to be confidential for you,” the Planned Parenthood employee responded.
Other investigators were told that the pills don’t “have to go right to your house” and that Planned Parenthood could “use a different address, you can put like a friend’s address or something.”
The video was released at a press conference attended by multiple Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Michael Cloud (R-TX), Mark Harris (R-NC), Troy Downing (R-MT), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).
When reached for comment on the video, Planned Parenthood did not respond to the specific allegations but claimed to comply with all applicable laws.
“Planned Parenthood health centers that offer medication abortion follow all applicable laws and regulations and always ensure care provided reflects the latest credible research and upholds the highest standard of patient care,” Danika Severino of Planned Parenthood told The Daily Wire.
&#8220;In accordance with Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s medical standards and guidelines — which are developed and updated with medical experts across the field of sexual and reproductive health care using rigorous scientific evidence — providers at Planned Parenthood health centers explain the associated risks and benefits to patients seeking medication abortion, just as they do with every health care service provided,” she added.
The video was published in conjunction with the release of a <a href="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/01/LA26-The-State-of-Chemical-Abortion-01.20.26-updated.pdf">report</a> detailing the history and dangers of the abortion pill and a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary.
“Since its approval in 2000, this drug has ended the lives of approximately 7.5 million children in the United States. Live Action’s investigation now publicly documents how those regulatory failures in safety manifest in clinical practice, particularly within Planned Parenthood facilities tasked with administering this drug under federal safeguards,” Live Action President Lila Rose wrote to Kennedy and Makary.
Rose asked the officials to “reevaluate the approval and current regulatory status of mifepristone, strengthen transparency and data collection, and remove this dangerous drug from the market.”
On Thursday, Rose met with Kennedy and said that they <a href="https://x.com/LilaGraceRose/status/2014396553406886052">discussed</a> the “dangers of the abortion pill.”
Ahead of the March for Life, the Trump administration did make multiple pro-life policy moves that were praised by conservative groups. The administration ended the use of human fetal tissue in federally-funded research, expanded the Mexico City policy, cutting funding for abortion abroad, and took actions to protect the rights of doctors in Illinois to not perform abortions.
Those moves were praised by the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America organization, which also demanded that they reverse Biden-era guidelines that allowed the abortion pill to be sent through the mail. These regulations have enabled activists to ship abortion pills into states where medication abortions are technically illegal.
“The abortion rate has gone way up over a million at least as far as we can track,” SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said on a press call attended by The Daily Wire. “They&#8217;re going up in these states because the abortion drugs, of course, through the mail, anyone can order them, they&#8217;re flooding [to] every boyfriend, every trafficker, every woman who orders them.”

Bill Tompkins  Planned Parenthood signage Archive

Planned Parenthood Employee Says Abortion ‘Safer’ Than Birth In Undercover Call

Department of Health and Human Services

Live Action

March For Life

Planned Parenthood

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers continue to turn up the pressure on the Trump administration to crack down on the widespread mailing of abortion drugs across the country. 
Senate and House Republicans repeated calls for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reverse Biden-era regulations allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be sent through the mail. The calls come as data shows that abortions have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/despite-dobbs-more-babies-are-still-being-aborted-in-the-united-states">only increased</a> after Roe v. Wade was overturned, largely fueled by mail-order drugs. 
The first call to action came during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee Wednesday morning, which focused on the dangers of the abortion pill. The committee hearing was packed with both pro-abortion and pro-life activists. 
“I urge Secretary Kennedy and Commissioner Makary to complete the safety review of mifepristone that they both promised us during their confirmation hearings. Republican members of this committee and many other senators expect an answer. At an absolute minimum, the previous in-person safeguards should be restored, and it should be done immediately,” said Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), the chair of the HELP Committee. 
During Cassidy’s hearing, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill testified Wednesday that abortions have been rising in her state. 
“Indeed, abortions have tragically increased in Louisiana and other pro-life states since Dobbs because of the Biden administration&#8217;s actions,” she said. “Shield laws in some states protect providers from liability and effectively nullify laws in our states. Their purpose is to make it more difficult to sue or prosecute individuals in those states where abortion drugs are prohibited.&#8221; 
After the hearing, Murrill told reporters that she had briefly flagged the issue for Makary, but that there had been no further developments. She said she would like to see quick action on the issue.
During the hearing, Democrat Senator Patty Murray, who called the hearing a “sham,” cited the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-lifers-demand-answers-from-trump-admin-after-shocking-abortion-pill-approval">recent approval</a> of another generic form of the abortion pill in September by the FDA. That approval shocked pro-life advocates and lawmakers, prompting Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) to say he had completely lost faith in the agency. 
Murray later cut off Dr. Monique Wubbenhorst, another witness, as she spoke about the women delivering fully developed dead babies after taking the abortion pill.
Medication abortions, which are the most common abortion method, are facilitated by a woman taking mifepristone and misoprostol. After a pregnant woman takes mifepristone, the unborn child is cut off from the nutrients it needs to survive and is effectively starved to death.
Calls to reverse the mail regulations were echoed Wednesday afternoon as Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of President Donald Trump’s closest supporters, led a press conference demanding that the mail-order abortion pill regulations be scrapped.
“The pro-life community is not asking too much of Republican administrations in Congress to repeal the Biden policy. I think that’s why we got elected,” Graham said. “A Biden policy that undercuts the state&#8217;s rights approach because the Biden policy allowed the abortion pill to be sent through the mail, regardless of what the state of law is, effectively destroying every pro-life law in the country at the state level.”
Appealing directly to the president, Graham said it was “time to deal with this issue.” 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The Family Research Council just kicked off a press conference led by Senator Lindsey Graham urging the Trump admin to crackdown on the mailing of abortion drugs into red states. <a href="https://t.co/ABakoDfBJN">pic.twitter.com/ABakoDfBJN</a>
— Leif Le Mahieu (@leif_lemahieu) <a href="https://twitter.com/leif_lemahieu/status/2011500628808216997?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The conference, organized by Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, was attended by Cassidy, Hawley, Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), and Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN). 
“There are more abortions committed today in the United States than when Roe was the law of the land,” Hawley said. “Do the American people have any right to protect life in their states, in their localities, nationally?”
Pro-life groups have grown increasingly impatient with the Trump administration&#8217;s action toward the abortion pill. Some groups have called for Makary to be ousted from the FDA, while others have accused him of slow-walking a study on the safety of the drug. 
Perkins said Wednesday that there would be a “political problem” for those who “sold out the pro-life movement.” 
“This policy could be changed overnight, and it should be. Politics aside, this is an issue of the sanctity of human life, it is an issue of the promises made to protect the unborn,” he said. “The states took the initiative, they took the action, and they&#8217;ve been denied the right to see those walls effectively put into place through the undermining of the FDA policy.”
Those sentiments were shared by several pro-life leaders who watched the abortion pill hearing. 
“Mailing the abortion pill is illegal, immoral, and deadly. And I&#8217;m calling on President Trump and Secretary Kennedy to reverse the Biden administration&#8217;s policies and return to requiring an in-person doctor&#8217;s visit for anyone being prescribed mifepristone,” Doug Truax, the CEO of Restoration of America, told The Daily Wire. 
Shawn Carney,  the president and CEO of 40 Days for Life, said it was time “for the government to intervene and to finally protect women and their unborn children from a dangerous, predatory industry.&#8221;
Live Action President Lila Rose said that the abortion drug should be pulled from the market altogether. 
&#8220;This hearing must be a turning point. The Trump administration should immediately restore in-person safeguards, fully investigate the mounting evidence of harm, and act decisively to protect women and children,” she said. “But more than that, the FDA must reverse its reckless approval of mifepristone and pull this dangerous drug from the market altogether.”

Senate Hearing on CDC Firings

GOP Lawmakers Ramp Up Pressure On Trump Admin To Crack Down On Abortion Pill

GOP Lawmakers Increase Pressure On Trump Admin To Crackdown On Abortion Pill

bill Cassidy

Josh Hawley

Senate

On Thursday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-novel-non-opioid-treatment-moderate-severe-acute-pain">approved</a> Journavx (suzetrigine) 50 mg oral tablets, a first-in-class non-opioid analgesic for the treatment of moderate to severe acute pain in adults.
Developed by Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Journavx represents a novel approach to pain management, targeting sodium channels in the peripheral nervous system to block pain signals before they reach the brain, offering an alternative to addictive opioids for post-surgical pain.
The FDA highlighted this approval as a major public health milestone, providing patients with a safer pain management option while addressing the opioid crisis. The agency has long promoted the development of non-opioid therapies through its Overdose Prevention Framework, issuing guidance to encourage innovative analgesics and supporting clinical practice guidelines for acute pain management. Journavx’s application received Breakthrough Therapy, Fast Track, and Priority Review designations, reflecting its therapeutic significance.
Efficacy was demonstrated in two randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled clinical trials involving patients recovering from abdominoplasty and bunionectomy. Both trials showed that Journavx significantly reduced pain compared to placebo, with participants allowed to use ibuprofen as “rescue” medication if needed. Safety data from 874 participants in these trials, along with supportive data from 256 patients in a separate open-label study, showed that common adverse effects included itching, muscle spasms, rash, and elevated creatine phosphokinase. Journavx is contraindicated with strong CYP3A inhibitors and should not be taken with grapefruit-containing foods or drinks.
Journavx joins the broader category of non-opioid analgesics, which includes acetaminophen, NSAIDs, COX-2 inhibitors, topical agents, and adjuvant therapies. Unlike opioids, these drugs relieve pain without binding to central opioid receptors, avoiding risks of dependence, tolerance, and respiratory depression. Journavx distinguishes itself as the first approved drug to block pain at peripheral nerves without affecting the brain, offering a promising new option for acute pain management while reducing reliance on opioid medications.
Most side effects in clinical trials were rated as mild to moderate and resolved without long-term issues. While no serious adverse events were directly linked to the drug in primary trials, the FDA and medical guides list several precautions:
<ul style="font-weight: 400;">
<li>Liver Function: Patients with moderate hepatic impairment require a lower dose. The drug is not recommended for those with severe liver disease (Child-Pugh Class C).</li>
<li>Kidney Function: It should be avoided in patients with severe renal impairment (eGFR &lt;15 mL/min).</li>
<li>Fertility &amp; Pregnancy: It may temporarily reduce the chance of becoming pregnant while on treatment. There is currently no human data on its safety during pregnancy or breastfeeding.</li>
</ul>

Peripheral Neuropathy pain in elderly patient on foot, hand, fingers, sensory nerves with numbness, muscle cramps, weakness from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

Breakthrough In Acute Pain Management: FDA Approves First-In-Class Non-Opioid

Health

U.S.

The Senate is set to hold a hearing next week on the dangers of the abortion pill, as pro-life groups urge the Trump administration to roll back Biden-era rules allowing the drug to be shipped through the mail, The Daily Wire has learned. 
The hearing will be led by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Cassidy has pushed for the Trump administration to end the mail-order abortion policies and release a safety study on the effects of mifepristone, the active drug used in medication abortions. 
“As a doctor and a strong pro-life conservative, I am committed to protecting mothers and the unborn. The medical evidence is clear: chemical abortion drugs not only kill innocent babies, but also put women in serious danger,” Cassidy told The Daily Wire. “As Chairman of the HELP Committee, I look forward to discussing how to uphold a culture of life and prioritize women‘s safety over political ideology.”
The hearing, titled “Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs,” will take place at 10:00 am in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. 
Medication abortions, now the most common abortion method, involve the use of two drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol. After a pregnant woman takes mifepristone, the unborn child is cut off from the vital nutrients it needs to survive and is effectively starved to death. Misoprostol is then used to induce labor and expel the deceased baby from the mother.
The hearing comes as Cassidy has pushed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for answers after it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-lifers-demand-answers-from-trump-admin-after-shocking-abortion-pill-approval">approved</a> another generic form of mifepristone in September, much to the surprise of pro-life advocates, and left in place rules allowing abortion pills to be mailed. In response, more than 51 senators <a href="https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/db3c8d4f-f16b-4393-9005-13461dcde9c2/letter-from-senator-graham-et-al-to-hhs-and-fda-re-mifepristone.pdf">asked</a> for the FDA to reverse course and reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement. 
Earlier this year, Cassidy and 16 other GOP senators wrote a <a href="https://www.help.senate.gov/rep/newsroom/press/chair-cassidy-leads-pro-life-republicans-seeking-answers-on-fda-approving-dangerous-chemical-abortion-drug">letter</a> to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary in October asking if the agency was conducting a study into the dangers of the abortion pill and whether it was aware of cases in which women had been coerced into taking the drugs or given them without their knowledge. 
In one recent incident, an Ohio surgeon <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-surgeon-accused-of-forcing-abortion-pill-on-sleeping-girlfriend?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ohio+Surgeon+Accused+Of+Forcing+Abortion+Pill+On+Sleeping+Girlfriend">was charged</a> after allegedly forcing his girlfriend to take an illegally obtained abortion pill, resulting in the death of her unborn child.
&#8220;The in-person dispensing requirement also helped guard women from being coerced into having chemical abortions against their will,&#8221; the senators wrote.
During his confirmation hearing, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would conduct a study into the abortion pill. That study has yet to be released, and some pro-life groups have accused the FDA of slow-walking it for political reasons. 
Data has shown that allowing abortion pills to be shipped by mail has resulted in tens of thousands of abortions in states like Texas and Tennessee, where medication abortions are technically illegal. This largely happens under &#8220;shield laws&#8221; in states like New York, which bar prosecution of those who ship abortion pills into states with abortion bans.

Senate Health Committee Hears Testimony From Fired CDC Director Susan Monarez

EXCLUSIVE: Senate To Zero In On ‘Exposing The Dangers’ Of The Abortion Pill

Unborn babies continue to be aborted at a higher rate across the United States despite the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the implementation of stronger pro-life laws, according to new data.
Data released in December by the pro-abortion Society of Family Planning <a href="https://societyfp.org/research/wecount/wecount-june-2025-data/">revealed</a> that the number of monthly abortions continued to increase in 2025 from 2024, which was itself an increase from 2023. Much of the increase has been fueled by the widespread mailing of abortion drugs across the country, even in states with “abortion bans” in place. 
The numbers show that the battle for pro-lifers has only begun as the ubiquitous mailing of mifepristone makes ending the life of an unborn child easier than ever before. 
To address the continued increase, many pro-life advocates <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-life-leaders-urge-trump-to-fight-attacks-on-the-unborn-coming-from-inside-his-administration?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Pro-Life+Leaders+Urge+Trump+To+Fight+%E2%80%98Attacks+On+The+Unborn%E2%80%99+Coming+From+Inside+His+Administration">have urged</a> the Trump administration to roll back Biden-era restrictions that allowed abortion pills to be sent through the mail with no in-person doctor visits. Others have shifted their efforts to changing cultural attitudes toward abortion. Senator Josh Hawley is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/life-is-sacred-josh-hawley-launches-project-to-fight-against-abortion-before-midterms?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Life+Is+Sacred%E2%80%99%3A+Josh+Hawley+Launches+Project+To+Fight+Against+Abortion+Before+Midterms">launching</a> a new political action committee promoting family. Some elected state Republicans and groups <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/best-of-2025-inside-the-conservative-debate-on-criminalizing-abortion?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Best+Of+2025%3A+Inside+The+Conservative+Debate+On+Criminalizing+Abortion">have pushed</a> for laws to criminalize abortion for both the abortionist and the mother. 
The data produced by the Society for Family Planning <a href="https://societyfp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/WeCount-Report-10-June-2025-data.pdf">estimated</a> that through June 2025, there were 98,630 babies aborted every month. That was an increase from the monthly rates of 2024 (95,250), 2023 (88,180), and 2022 (79,620). The group estimated that 27% of the abortions for the available 2025 data were through telehealth, meaning they were facilitated by abortion pills sent through the mail. 
Telehealth abortions were largely taking place in the 13 states with the strongest pro-life laws. In these states, nearly all abortions are illegal with a few very limited exceptions, yet the number of abortions facilitated by mail increased from 2023 to 2024. 
Medication abortions, which are the most common abortion method, are facilitated by a woman taking mifepristone and misoprostol. After a pregnant woman takes mifepristone, the unborn child is cut off from the nutrients it needs to survive and is effectively starved to death. Misoprostol is then taken to induce labor and expel the deceased baby from the mother. 
In Louisiana, for example, there were 7,530 pill abortions in 2024 compared to 2,480 in 2023. In Texas, there were an estimated 35,870 abortions by pill in 2024 compared to 12,420 in 2023. These abortions took place despite both states having laws in place banning medication abortions. 
Both Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill have launched efforts to go after individuals in states like New York who they say have sent abortion pills into their states. Their efforts have been met with limited success as many deep blue states have passed “shield laws” to give immunity to leftist activists who mail pills into red states. 
The shield laws have proven to be a major problem for pro-life states, with about 55% of all telehealth abortions being facilitated under them, according to the data. In June 2025, about 14,770 abortions were being facilitated per month under shield laws. At the same time, medication abortion went up in all the states with bans on medication abortions in 2024. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1022105" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-2.png" alt="" width="1200" height="700" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-2.png 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-2-300x175.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-2-987x576.png 987w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-2-768x448.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></div>
The numbers produced by the Society for Family Planning also don&#8217;t include abortions not facilitated through the “formal health care system,” meaning there are likely many being missed. As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-leftist-networks-flood-red-states-with-risky-abortion-pills-with-no-consequences">previously reported</a>, shady websites run by leftist activists have been mailing pills into states with no age verification or prescription requirements. 
Doug Truax, the founder of the conservative organization Restoration of America, told The Daily Wire that he was not surprised to see the numbers put out by the Society of Family Planning. 
“So now you have all these states that have banned abortion, and all these states have these rabid abortionists in them, and these abortionists are making sure they abort babies in the states where it&#8217;s banned,” he said. 
“You got abortionists in California and New York and Massachusetts, and they’re killing babies in Alabama and Texas, and everyplace else where it&#8217;s banned. And that&#8217;s why the number&#8217;s going up right now,” he added, noting that the abortion pill allowed anybody’s bathroom to be turned into an “abortion clinic.” 
Truax said that he believes many pro-lifers don’t know the full scope of the problem with the abortion pills. He is one of those arguing that the Trump administration should reinstate the in-person requirements for the mailing of the abortion pill, saying that this would significantly curb the problem. He believes it could pose a political problem for the administration if pro-lifers become convinced that no action will be taken on the abortion pill. 
The requirements were first lifted by the Biden administration as a COVID-era measure, but have yet to be reversed. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America is another organization pushing the Trump administration to take action to end the mail-order abortion guidelines. 
They have called for the firing of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary over the alleged slow-walking of a study on the dangers of the abortion pill. Pro-lifers were also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-lifers-demand-answers-from-trump-admin-after-shocking-abortion-pill-approval">shocked</a> in September after the FDA approved another generic form of mifepristone, making the abortion drug more readily available. 
“I would like to believe that the number of abortions have decreased since the state started enacting pro-life laws, but every data point that we have, essentially, that&#8217;s national in scope or multiple states, is showing that&#8217;s not the case, and that this mail order abortion policy from Joe Biden is responsible for increasing the number of abortions in the U.S,” SBA Pro-Life America Communications Director Kelsey Pritchard told The Daily Wire. 
Pritchard said that the FDA’s failure to reverse the Biden-era regulations was subverting state laws banning medication abortions. 
“Essentially, the Biden rule enables Gavin Newsom, Kathy Hochul, JD Pritzker, all of these blue states, to undermine pro-life laws by allowing their abortionists to mail in these pills that are not only killing the babies, but putting women in hospitals and enabling abusers to poison and coerce women,” she said. 
Already, multiple Republican-led states have sued the FDA over the rule, arguing that it interferes with their efforts to protect the unborn. In December 2025, Florida and Texas filed a suit challenging the FDA, saying that its “approval and deregulation of abortion drugs have placed women and girls in harm&#8217;s way.”
Republicans in Congress have also called for a repeal of the Biden rules, with 175 House Republicans writing a letter to yank the regulations and 51 Senate Republicans urging the FDA to reconsider its approval of the generic abortion drug. 
When asked whether there would be a rollback on the mailing of abortion pills in 2026, the FDA told The Daily Wire it cannot comment on “future or potential policy decisions.” 
At the state level, some Republican lawmakers from Georgia to North Dakota to Missouri introduced “equal protection” bills in 2025 that would criminalize abortion not only for the abortionist, but anyone involved in the abortion, including the mother. They believe that these kinds of bills would be more effective at eliminating abortion and provide equal protection to unborn babies. 
“Many red states with so-called abortion bans are seeing higher abortion levels because their bans are no bans at all,” Bradley Pierce, a constitutional lawyer and president of the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, told The Daily Wire. “All of these so-called bans have explicit loopholes allowing women to order, possess, and take abortion pills. Because there is no law prohibiting these self-induced abortions, and in fact they are protected by law, we are witnessing the current increase even in states that shut down their abortion facilities.”
Pierce said that unborn babies should receive the same protection that any other human being receives under the law. 
“We need equal protection of the laws for preborn babies, meaning that the same homicide laws protecting the lives of born people are extended to protect preborn people as well,” he said. “Without this standard, preborn image-bearers of God will remain unprotected, even in the most conservative states in our country.”
While a minority position among elected officials, Pierce noted that in 2025, there were 17 equal protection bills across 15 states sponsored by 123 lawmakers across the country, and a record number of hearings and votes on the legislation.
Aside from the problem of mail-order abortions, pro-lifers will also have to grapple with the increasing number of travel abortions. Tens of thousands of women have traveled out of their home state for abortions over the last few years. According to the data, women traveling out of states for abortions declined for the most part across the thirteen states with the strongest pro-life laws from 2023 to 2024, but the number was still significant. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1022107" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-3.png" alt="" width="1200" height="700" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-3.png 1200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-3-300x175.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-3-987x576.png 987w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Code_Generated_Image-3-768x448.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></div>
The data is clear that many Americans are still able to access abortion with relative ease despite the fall of Roe. To address cultural attitudes toward abortion, Senator Josh Hawley and his wife, Erin, a constitutional lawyer, created a nonprofit called the <a href="https://lovelifeinitiative.org/about/">Love Life Initiative</a>. The group will run pro-family national ad campaigns to encourage Americans to raise families and defend life at all stages of development. The group will also promote pro-life ballot campaigns and fight against pro-abortion ballot petitions.
“We believe there needs to be a strong voice advocating for life and making it easier to start a family,” Senator Hawley said. “That is fundamental to who we are as Americans and the future of our country. And it is how we will be judged as a society. This is a generational project, not just about the next election cycle.”

Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Abortion Drug Mifepristone

Despite Dobbs Decision, Abortions Have Only Increased In The United States

Despite Dobbs, More Babies Are Still Being Aborted In The United States

Editor’s note: This week, we’re reprinting some of our best stories from the past year. This piece, originally published in September, discusses the dangerous drug sold at gas stations across the country derived from kratom.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary says his agency is working to get ahead of what could be the “fourth wave” of the deadly opioid crisis by targeting a substance derived from the kratom plant that is being sold to young people in gas stations and vape shops all across the nation.
The concentrated compound, 7-hydroxymitragynine, known as 7-OH, is up to 13 times more potent than morphine, according to Makary. Deceptive marketing and easy access are helping fuel its spread, luring in an increasing number of young Americans.
“We can’t get caught flat-footed again,” Makary recently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-9RKbVl_m8">warned</a>. “We got burned with fentanyl, we got burned with prescription drugs. We cannot get behind the eight ball again. This may be the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic. Concentrated, synthetic, 7-OH may be the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic.”
“7-OH, people need to know, is an opioid,” he emphasized. “You can walk down the street in almost any neighborhood in America and buy an opioid.”
The kratom plant is native to Southeast Asia. In its natural state, some people find it to have healthful and medicinal qualities. The FDA has made clear that it’s not focusing on the natural kratom leaf. They’re targeting concentrated and synthetic forms of kratom, or 7-OH.
At the end of July, the FDA recommended that 7-OH be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, making it illegal to sell or possess. The agency says it’s an opioid that comes with significant health risks, including addiction and overdose.
Some people may not have even heard of kratom before, but they’ve likely seen kratom-derived 7-OH products in gas stations, corner stores, vape shops, or even online. Kratom, overall, is a billion-dollar industry in the U.S. – and it’s growing fast. In just a few years, the industry is expected to almost double in size.
7-OH is sold in a variety of forms, including powders, vapes, drinks, pills, and products that appeal to children, such as <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-steps-restrict-7-oh-opioid-products-threatening-american-consumers?utm_source=chatgpt.com">fruit-flavored gummies and even ice cream cones</a>.
<div id="attachment_967745" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-967745" class="wp-image-967745 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-864x576.jpg" alt=" In this photo illustration, a bottle with Kratom liquid and bags of capsules with the herbal supplement Kratom inside are seen on May 10, 2016 in Miami, Florida. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-530276352.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Joe Raedle/Getty Images</div>
These products are often inaccurately labeled concerning their 7-OH content, and can be disguised or marketed as merely the kratom plant. There’s also no federal age restriction on these products, though <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/kratom-targeted-crackdowns-states-cities-rcna166661">several states</a> now prohibit the sale of such products to minors.
As far as widespread harm, especially to young Americans, the data are mixed – or perhaps underreported, and too early to tell.
The CDC says there have been some overdose deaths associated with kratom products, but often other substances were also involved. There was also a <a href="https://project.tampabay.com/investigations/deadly-dose/kratom-overdose-deaths-florida-mitragynine-testing/">recent report</a> from the Tampa Bay Times that links kratom products to hundreds of deaths just in the state of Florida, over the past decade. Additionally, more and more anecdotal accounts of 7-OH-related addictions and deaths fill the web, though they remain unverified.
A toxicologist and emergency physician from Albany Medical Center, Dr. Alicia Tudor, believes kratom-related harms are being underreported, specifically regarding overdoses.
“I’ll see it in the emergency department and then probably more often in the addiction clinic that I work at as well,” Tudor <a href="https://cbs6albany.com/news/wellness-watch/ballston-spa-mother-advocates-for-kratom-regulation-after-sons-death-controlled-substance-legislation-bill-protest-overdose-toxicology">told</a> WRGB.
Toxicology tests are not always given when patients come in for an overdose, she said. “Then the results would come back, you know, weeks later, and at that point, the patient’s been discharged and doing better,” Tudor added.
<div id="attachment_967751" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-967751" class="wp-image-967751 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-864x576.jpg" alt="Cari Scribner with photos of her son, Nickolas, on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in her home Ballston Spa, NY. " width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2228201310.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jim Franco/Albany Times Union via Getty Images</div>
New York mother Cari Scribner wants action taken on these highly concentrated kratom products. Her 27-year-old son, Nickolas, died last year from what appears to have been a kratom-related death.
Scribner <a href="https://cbs6albany.com/news/wellness-watch/ballston-spa-mother-advocates-for-kratom-regulation-after-sons-death-controlled-substance-legislation-bill-protest-overdose-toxicology">says</a> her son started using the products to manage anxiety, depression, and insomnia, believing it was merely an “all natural herbal, energy, and health supplement.”
In a similar tragedy, Makary relayed the contents of a letter from a grieving stepfather of a young man who had finally quit addiction, only to purchase 7-OH without being aware of its contents.
“He called me on May 31 to tell me he had stopped at the vape shop to buy a vape and was offered a fruity pill, and was told that it was kratom,” Makary read the letter aloud. “He said that he took the pill and became addicted, and should have done his research. He died the night he took two 20 mg 7-OH pills. The wrapper was at his bedside. There were no other drugs or alcohol in the house.”
While kratom has been widely used in the U.S. for some time, concentrated 7-OH has only risen in popularity within the last five years. Ultimately, the FDA is moving to stop the substance from causing more widespread harm before it’s too late.
And it’s not just the FDA taking action. Florida is leading the way on the state level. Earlier this month, Florida AG James Uthmeier announced an emergency rule to classify 7-OH as a Schedule I controlled substance. GOP Gov. Mike DeWine has also <a href="https://governor.ohio.gov/media/news-and-media/governor-dewine-calls-on-pharmacy-board-to-schedule-+kratom-compounds-as-illegal-drugs">urged</a> the Ohio Board of Pharmacy to designate synthetic and natural kratom compounds as illegal drugs. Additionally, a number of other states have moved to add age restrictions for 7-OH or limitations on concentrations of the compound.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is currently reviewing the FDA’s recommendation to effectively ban 7-OH.

Kratom

Best Of 2025: This Drug Is Sold in Your Gas Station. It May Trigger the ‘Fourth Wave’ Of The Opioid Crisis.

Drugs

Prescription Drugs

A coalition of pro-life leaders urged the Trump administration on Tuesday to take action against “attacks on the unborn and most vulnerable” they said were coming from inside the White House, according to a letter obtained by The Daily Wire. 
The group, including Concerned Women for America CEO Penny Nance and Eagle Forum President Kirsten Ullman, called for the Food and Drug Administration to end Biden-era regulations that allowed the abortion pill to be shipped through the mail across the country. They said that the FDA’s current stance on the abortion pill was undermining the pro-life agenda promoted by the Trump administration.
“We do wish to express our deep concern about the actions and rhetoric coming from the current Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We write to bring to your immediate attention this critical threat to your Administration’s pro-life agenda,” the coalition wrote. “We, and the millions of pro-life Americans we represent across this great country, cannot sit idly while attacks on the unborn and most vulnerable are coming from inside the administration.&#8221; 
The FDA has faced criticism from pro-life groups and lawmakers after it <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-lifers-demand-answers-from-trump-admin-after-shocking-abortion-pill-approval?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Pro-Lifers+Demand+Answers+From+Trump+Admin+After+%E2%80%98Shocking%E2%80%99+Abortion+Pill+Approval">approved</a> a generic form of the abortion pill in October and maintained the mail-order abortion regulations. 
“Most troublingly, the agency has maintained and actively expanded access to the abortion drug mifepristone, while operating under outdated regulations that allow unrestricted telehealth and mail-order prescriptions for the drug. Despite Secretary Kennedy’s requests for review, no meaningful policy restrictions have been implemented,” the pro-life leaders wrote. 
Last week, Senator Josh Hawley <a href="https://x.com/HawleyMO/status/1998806068974240199">sent</a> a letter to Food and Drug Administrator Marty Makary asking about reports that he was slow-walking a study on the dangers of the abortion pill.
The letter was also signed by Center for Urban Renewal and Education President Donald Eason, Faith and Freedom Coalition CEO Mary Thomas, Faith Wins CEO Chad Connelly, Patriot Voices Chair and former senator Rick Santorum, and Priests for Life National Director Frank Pavone. 
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They praised President Donald Trump&#8217;s past actions on abortion, thanking him for speaking at the March for Life, appointing Supreme Court Justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and cutting federal funding for Planned Parenthood. 
Their letter follows a call from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America to fire Makary over his handling of the abortion pill review. The White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-stands-by-fdas-makary-after-accusations-he-slow-walked-vital-review-of-abortion-drugs">has stood</a> by Makary, pushing back on claims that he was slow-walking the abortion pill study. 
The Daily Wire reached out to the White House for comment on the letter.

President Trump Makes Announcement On New Theories On Autism Causation In Children

Pro-Life Leaders Urge Trump To Fight ‘Attacks On The Unborn’ Coming From Inside His Administration

Pro-Life Leaders Tell Trump Admin To Fight 'Attacks On The Unborn' Within White House

President Donald Trump highlights the administration’s affordability efforts, a key Senate race gains a new wrinkle in Texas, and mainstream science erupts at a new government memo on vaccines.
It’s Wednesday, December 10, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251210-member-exclusive">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trump-touts-affordability-lone-star-senate-showdown/id1576594336?i=1000740617515" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Kicks Off Economy Tour</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1012423" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Affordability-Center-Stage-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Affordability-Center-Stage-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Affordability-Center-Stage-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Affordability-Center-Stage-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Affordability-Center-Stage-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Affordability-Center-Stage.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: President Trump is hitting the road to tout his economic progress as Americans remain pessimistic about affordability and the cost of living.
Since retaking office, many of the president’s most high-profile road trips have been abroad to meet with foreign leaders and lock down peace deals and trade agreements. But with midterms fast approaching and affordability remaining the top issue for voters, he’s launching a nationwide tour to tout his economic record and address voter concerns on affordability.
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For years now, Republicans have dominated on the topic, with poll after poll showing voters prefer their handling of the economy over Democrats. But goodwill from Trump’s first term has not carried over, as Republicans now trail Democrats on the economy.
Last month’s electoral results in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York were seemingly a wake-up call for the White House. It’s not just that Democrats won handily, but it’s the fact that they won by attacking President Trump’s economy and focusing on affordability. Now the president has held a series of meetings with his top advisers to devise a new messaging strategy to convince voters that he’s taking the right course ahead of the midterms.
Trump appeared in Pennsylvania for the first of what the White House says will be a string of events focused primarily on affordability.
Trump is in a tough political spot. On the one hand, he takes great pride in his economic prowess and his role as a sort of businessman-in-chief. But if he continues insisting that things are going great, he risks coming off as out of touch and angering folks.
A Fox News poll this month found that 76% of voters view the economy negatively, while POLITICO found that even 37% of Trump voters say the cost of living is the worst they’ve ever seen.
For his part, the president reportedly feels the issue is perception, and that Republicans must step up their efforts to highlight the progress they’re making.
“We gave you an extension of the biggest tax cuts and the biggest tax cuts ever, even bigger than the first term, and that&#8217;s one of the reasons that your 401(k)s are through the roof. It&#8217;s one of the reasons that the stock market is at the highest point,” said Trump Tuesday evening. “Rent prices are down, dairy prices are coming down very strongly. The cost of Thanksgiving turkeys was down by 33% compared to the Biden era. That&#8217;s a good start. We&#8217;re bringing it down and we&#8217;re coming down more. We&#8217;re coming down a lot more.”
President Trump also touted the progress made so far in lowering the cost of gas and eggs, which reached historic highs in recent years. 
“We&#8217;re down lower than we&#8217;ve been in seven years. And gasoline prices in oil prices, not just the three states that I talk about with 1.99 a gallon,” said Trump. “  What about eggs? … The price of eggs is down now 80% since March. Think of that.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Shootout For Texas Senate Seat</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1012425" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Battle-Brews-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Battle-Brews-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Battle-Brews-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Battle-Brews-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Battle-Brews-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Battle-Brews.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: A Texas Senate race is already heating up as candidates for both parties jockey for the chance to win the key seat, and some notable names are shaking things up.
A new Democrat challenger: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) is jumping into the race. Crockett is a sound-bite factory, so prepare to see some major developments out of the U.S. Senate race in Texas.
Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) dropped out of the race earlier on Monday while signaling that Crockett was going to get in. Meanwhile, state Rep. James Talarico is maintaining that he is going to stay in the contest on the Democratic side.
Texas is a red state, but with the 2026 election, Democrats are feeling a bit cocky about their shot at winning that seat and many others, if possible.
Crockett’s impact: The NRCC, or the Republican arm focused on House elections, is already touting that Crockett could potentially be the Democratic nominee. What that means for down-ballot races is that moderate Democrats will face a choice: whether to embrace Crockett and risk being painted as radicals by Republicans, or to push away from Crockett and risk pushback from Democrats.
Either way, Republicans will likely try to paint Crockett as the standard-bearer of the Democratic Party in Texas.
GOP’s packed primary: On the Republican side, it&#8217;s a complicated primary. Incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is running, as well as state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) is also in the race.
Cornyn is backed by the NRC, the official party arm that defends incumbent GOP senators. Paxton, Hunt, and Cornyn are all vying for Trump&#8217;s endorsement. But the president has not yet picked a favorite.
Hunt and Paxton have both portrayed themselves as the better option to stand with Trump and carry out the president’s agenda. But there is a highly volatile dynamic in the race, and polling shows the contest is incredibly close.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">FDA Revamps Vaccine Standards</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1012427" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Shots-Under-Scrutiny-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Shots-Under-Scrutiny-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Shots-Under-Scrutiny-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Shots-Under-Scrutiny-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Shots-Under-Scrutiny-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Shots-Under-Scrutiny.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The FDA is implementing tougher standards for vaccines, a move riling up the medical establishment.
Reports circulated this week about an internal memo from Dr. Vinay Prasad, director of the FDA’s vaccine division, proposing an overhaul of how vaccines are evaluated and approved, initiating tougher standards. The new process would include full randomized clinical trials even for updated or routine vaccines, such as the flu shot.
The trials would allow evaluation of real-world protection, not just antibody levels, as well as side-effect rates and additional information for risk-benefit analysis. Currently, officials rely primarily on immune-response data, such as antibody levels from small groups of people.
Notably, this memo cited at least 10 children who died “after and because of” receiving COVID vaccines. That is apparently driving this new direction for tougher vaccine approvals. 
How it&#8217;s playing: Twelve former FDA officials denounced the memo in an editorial, claiming that it casts doubt on vaccine safety. They claim these new standards reject “long-standing science” and say it will slow innovation. Former FDA head Dr. Scott Gottlieb appeared on CBS News and <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1997844527353409711">said</a> Prasad’s new procedures could hamper vaccine effectiveness.
Trump admin response: The Department of Health and Human Services stands by Dr. Prasad and these new standards. An HHS spokesperson took a swipe at the “resistance” editorial, saying, “The fact these criticisms are coming from former FDA officials who opposed raising the bar for vaccine science confirms we are on the right track.”
HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard told Morning Wire that the American people “deserve evidence-based science,” and said Dr. Prasad’s email “lays out a philosophical framework that points us toward that higher standard.”
Hilliard also said HHS will “soon release documents laying out that framework,” as well as data confirming how the COVID vaccine resulted in children’s deaths that previous leadership failed to investigate properly.

MRN_251210_V2

Morning Brief: Trump Touts Affordability, Lone Star Senate Showdown, & Vax Standards Revised

Morning Brief: Trump’s Economy Tour, TX Senate Race, And FDA Revamps Vax Standards

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