Cassidy lambasts FDA's abortion pill approval as 'betrayal'

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) slammed the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of a new generic form of the abortion pill mifepristone Thursday night, joining a chorus of other conservative critics.

"I fully support President Trump’s Pro-Life, Pro-Family agenda, but the FDA approving one more tool to kill babies is a betrayal," Cassidy wrote in a post on the social platform X.

"This is not what Commissioner Makary and Secretary Kennedy indicated they would do in their confirmation hearings," Cassidy added, referring to FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The FDA told Evita Solutions that its mifepristone pills were approved after the new drug application met the necessary requirements.

Kennedy and Makary said last week that the FDA would consider modifying the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy requirements due to “recent studies raising concerns about the safety of mifepristone as currently administered.”

Reps. Mark Harris (R-N.C.) and Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.) took to social media Friday to slam the decision. In an X post, Harris said he and other lawmakers would demand "accountability" for the FDA's approval "of a lethal abortion drug."

"The FDA’s recent approval of the generic version of mifepristone is completely unacceptable," Brecheen wrote after he shared Harris's post.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) defended the FDA's decision on social media.

"Actually, it’s science," he posted Friday on X. "The generic version is as safe and effective as brand products. It is, in fact, a rare win for science — in this administration."

Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000. The drug is taken in combination with misoprostol to perform medication abortions, which account for about two-thirds of abortions in the country.