CNN anchor Abby Phillip interjected on Tuesday when a Republican operative suggested that there were legitimate concerns about the safety of the abortion pill mifepristone, telling her guest that “it is a very safe drug.”
Last week, a conservative Texas judge suspended the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, a key drug used in medical abortions. The judge’s ruling, if it stands, would prevent access to the pills, which are used in roughly half of terminated pregnancies nationwide. Another federal judge, meanwhile, issued an opposing order instructing the FDA to continue dispensing the drug, potentially setting up a Supreme Court showdown.
Recent polls, however, show that most Americans oppose federal courts banning access to abortion medication. Additionally, Republicans are growing increasingly nervous that the party’s push for abortion restrictions will continue to hinder their electoral prospects. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who calls herself “pro-life,” urged the FDA on Monday to ignore the Texas judge’s ruling.
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During a CNN panel discussion on Tuesday afternoon, Phillip brought up Mace’s concern about abortion restrictions hurting the GOP before wondering if conservative activists are going too far on the issue. Conservative CNN commentator Alice Stewart, however, initially defended the anti-abortion movement and the Texas ruling.
“Look, I think Republican pro-life leaders are going to really fight this battle because they look at this and the numbers that the pro-life advocates are looking at have to do with the dangers of these medical abortion pills,” she declared.
“And I know that you shared earlier some of the facts and data that has been shared by the FDA,” Stewart continued. “But pro-life advocates are looking at this the way the FDA did these tests; they didn’t feel as though it was full and complete and done in the typical way the FDA does this.”
Stewart went on to say that anti-abortion activists, who pressed the Texas judge to make his ruling, are “concerned with the safety of women” before claiming that the FDA potentially overlooked harmful side effects of mifepristone.
“Oftentimes, the injuries to the mother are not reported because they are not required to go to seek a doctor’s care or go to the emergency room,” she proclaimed. “So a lot of the injuries to the mothers are unreported for that very reason.”
At this point, Phillip felt the need to cut Stewart off and inject some facts into the conversation.
“So Alice, I mean, I have to stop you there because, I mean, we do have the data on this,” the CNN host stated. “It is a very safe drug.”
Displaying an on-air graphic showing that only five in one million users of mifepristone have died since the pill was approved in 2000, Phillip noted that the abortion drug is much safer than widely used drugs such as penicillin or Viagra.
“It's notable, I mean, the judge is citing psychological damage to two women, but not, you know, taking into consideration that there was a 20-plus-year process in which this drug was deemed safe,” Phillip said. “Why even does the judge have the right to decide what drugs are safe and what’s not?”
Stewart, for her part, bemoaned that the courts are now “in the center of the controversy” before stating that she believes that reproductive rights should be up to state legislatures to decide.
“This is one of the many issues I think are best left up to elected officials at the state level, and it should not be adjudicated in the court,” the GOP strategist concluded.
