13 questions HHS Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy needs to answer before confirmation

In November, shortly after being elected, President Donald Trump announced his decision to nominate Robert F. Kennedy as secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Kennedy has openly supported abortion, calling himself “personally pro-life” in interviews, while advocating for abortion to be legal. “I don’t trust government to have jurisdiction over people’s bodies,” he has said in the past. “I think we need to leave it to the woman, her pastor and to, you know, her spiritual advisors or physician, whatever, to make those decisions.”

For this reason, Kennedy’s nomination caused concern among pro-life individuals, particularly as Trump’s 2024 campaign saw him apparently walking back and watering down many of his own previous pro-life stances held during his first presidential term.

Kennedy’s first confirmation hearing will begin on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 — and there are numerous questions the pro-life movement needs him to answer.

1. When do you believe that human life should be protected?

a. Is there a certain gestational age or level of development (such as when the heart begins to beat, or the child develops the ability to feel pain) at which you believe that preborn children deserve the protection of the federal government?

b. Conversely, are there any extenuating circumstances in which you believe that preborn children should not be protected?

As recently as May of 2024, Kennedy publicly stated that he opposed any restrictions on abortion, and argued that it should be legal even at full-term. However, he quickly changed his tune, saying, “I had been assuming that virtually all late-term abortions were such cases [the baby has some fatal condition], but I’ve learned that my assumption was wrong. Sometimes, women abort healthy, viable late-term fetuses. These cases of purely ‘elective’ late-term abortion are very upsetting. Once the baby is viable outside the womb, it should have rights and it deserves society’s protection.”

The Pro-Life Reply to: "I'm Personally Pro Life, BUT..."

So where does Kennedy actually stand, since his position seems to have fluctuated based on his political aspirations?

Members of Congress should be sure to question him thoroughly about whether there are any preborn children he is willing to protect — because as head of HHS, he will have an enormous amount of influence on this issue.

2. What would be your policies surrounding the abortion pill (mifepristone)?

a. Will you commit to advocating for the reinstatement all of the historic safeguards on chemical abortions put in place more than 20 years ago by President Bill Clinton, including reporting on all adverse events (not just deaths*) connected to the abortion pill?

b. Will you commit to providing pro-life groups, who are suing HHS over failure to provide documents under the Freedom of Information Act, with the requested documents regarding mifepristone?

Trump himself said last month that he has no intention of restricting the abortion pill — but as HHS secretary, Kennedy could choose to take action, as the FDA commissioner reports to the HHS secretary.

The Risk Evaluation and Mitigation System (REMS) safety requirements for mifepristone (the abortion pill) were originally weakened by the Obama administration in 2016; after that point, abortion pills were able to be taken through 10 weeks instead of seven, and women no longer needed to take the drugs in-person with their clinician. Additionally, non-fatal adverse events (complications) were no longer required to be reported.

The Biden administration likewise continued weakening REMS, eliminating requirements for the drugs to be dispensed in person, and allowing them to be sent through the mail. Retail pharmacies were soon permitted to dispense abortion pills as well.

The TROUBLING History of the ABORTION PILL

The abortion pill regimen is frequently described as being “safer than Tylenol,” even though there are numerous potential known complications of mifepristone. Side effects may include severe cramping, contractions, and heavy bleeding, as well as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and headaches. One recent study found that women were overwhelmingly unprepared for just how painful the chemical abortion process would be. Other studies have shown chemical abortion to be four times more dangerous than a first-trimester surgical abortion, and additionally found that approximately 6% of women in at least one study experienced complications severe enough to require an emergency room or urgent care visit. However, the real number of visits could be even higher, as women are encouraged by the abortion industry to lie to emergency room providers and say they are experiencing natural miscarriages as opposed to post-abortion complications (which then misattributes those complications elsewhere). And, as noted, abortion pill complications that do not result in death are not required to be reported at all, leaving women to assume that the risk to them is minimal.

The “no-test” abortion pill protocol is even more risky for women. Without an ultrasound or any blood tests beforehand, there is no way to truly confirm a preborn child’s gestational age, and no way to rule out an extra-uterine pregnancy or any other contraindications that may put the mother at risk.

3. Will you commit to taking every possible step to end taxpayer funding of abortion groups?

Will you stop taxpayer dollars from funding — via Title X, Medicaid reimbursements, and other grants and contracts — organizations that either perform or refer for abortions, or are co-located with organizations that do?

Within a week of taking office, Trump had already reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which bans U.S. taxpayer dollars from funding abortions overseas. The policy had been rescinded under the Biden-Harris administration.

On this issue, Kennedy has thus far promised to support Trump’s pro-life policies being reinstated at HHS — such as the Protect Life Rule, which required abortion businesses to both fiscally and physically separate any abortion-related operations from their other family-planning services in order to receive Title X funding.

4. Will you protect Americans’ rights of conscience?

The Biden Administration eliminated the Conscience and Religious Freedom Division within HHS’ Office for Civil Rights. Will you protect the conscience rights of Americans whose employers attempt to force them to commit abortions against their will?

The Biden-Harris administration has attacked conscience rights for health care professionals, so with a new administration in place, there is the hope that these rights will now be protected.

Kennedy has claimed that he supports legal abortion due to a supposed desire for less government intervention, so will he uphold the right of health care professionals to opt out of participating in abortion?

5. Will you take steps to increase the reporting of abortion data?

Federal reporting on abortion is not currently required, giving HHS an incomplete picture of the demographics of women obtaining abortions, the gestational age at which abortions are performed, the types of procedures used, and any adverse events connected to them.

a. Do you believe that more states should collect and report their abortion data?

b. What steps, if any, will you take to increase abortion data reporting?

It’s impossible to know exactly how many abortions are committed in the United States, because that data is not reliably reported or tracked. The best we have are estimates, cobbled together from multiple organizations.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does publish abortion surveillance reports — but state participation is optional and some choose not to report. Therefore, the reported number is undoubtedly much lower than the actual number of abortions committed.

The Guttmacher Institute, the former research arm and “special affiliate” of Planned Parenthood, releases what is likely more accurate data, but given the proliferation of the abortion pill and the method of obtaining the pills by mail, etc., there is no way to properly account for all of these statistics.

Where does Kennedy stand on this issue? Should Americans be able to know, at the very least, what the reality of abortion in the United States is?

6. How will HHS support pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) offering alternatives to abortion?

Will you advocate for increased funding or grants to PRCs that provide resources such as counseling, medical care, and housing for pregnant women in need?

PRCs have come under increased attack in recent years, both on the federal and state level, as well as in the media.

Instead of being persecuted by a hostile government, PRCs should be able to simply exist and give women alternatives to abortion. PRCs also should be supported, so they can, in turn, give women the real support they deserve.

Where does Kennedy stand on giving women life-affirming options?

7. Do you believe the federal government has a role in supporting expectant mothers without promoting abortion as a ‘solution’?

What specific measures will you implement to provide services such as health care, housing, and other support to mothers experiencing unexpected pregnancies, without promoting abortion as a solution?

This question was answered, to an extent, by Kennedy himself last year, when he said he wants to make it easier for women to choose life. While that’s a great thing to say, Americans need details.

How, exactly, will he make it easier for women to choose life? What policies will he put in place to help women? And will he put these policies in place without also promoting abortion as a valid option?

8. What is your view on the use of fetal tissue from elective abortions in research?

Will you commit to ending any federal funding for research that involves the use of fetal tissue from aborted babies?

The Center for Medical Progress exposed the disturbing practice of selling aborted baby body parts in an undercover investigation that rocked the nation. It was discovered that abortionists were offering to illegally alter abortion procedures, haggling over the price of body parts, and more. Abortion staffers were seen laughing and making crude jokes about dead babies and body parts, and telling undercover investigators that they needed to get their stories straight so they wouldn’t get caught breaking the law – indicating that these people were all too aware that what they were doing was illegal.

Stop Human Trafficking of Aborted Infants

Fetal tissue is still being used for research, and though some lawmakers have tried to stop it, those efforts have failed. Kennedy may not be able to outright ban the use of fetal tissue, but he can make sure the federal government isn’t paying for it.

9. Will you support federal initiatives promoting adoption as an alternative to abortion?

How will you streamline the adoption process to make it more accessible and affordable for families?

Adoption can cost in the $20,000-$30,000 range in the United States. This amount of money is difficult for the average family to afford.

The adoption process needs regulations and safeguards, including emphasizing a relationship with the child’s biological family (open adoption) if possible. Adoption can be a wonderful alternative to abortion, but the government should be making that a feasible option, both for pregnant mothers who feel they are unable to parent, and for would-be adoptive parents.

10. How will you address disparities in abortion rates among minority communities?

Given the disproportionate rate of abortions in communities of color, what steps will you take to provide better health care, education, and support in these areas?

Women of color get abortions at disproportionately higher rates. And yet, the abortion industry continuously insists that minorities need more access to abortion. Why is there not more concern over this?

Women who are minorities and living in poverty are often deemed by the media and by abortion advocates as being better off having aborted their children. Women of color, however, deserve better than this. And the government needs to be doing more to encourage alternatives beyond killing their children at massive rates because they feel they have no other choice.

11. Do you believe abortion facilities should be held to the same health and safety standards as other outpatient surgical centers?

What actions will you take to ensure compliance with these standards?

It happens on an appallingly regular basis: abortion facilities fight tooth and nail to be exempt from the basic standards to which any other outpatient surgical center is held. And yet, at the same time, they insist on being treated as if they are just like any other (legitimate) health care provider.

These basic health and safety standards are not just an arbitrary attempt at persecution; they have life-and-death consequences. Elevators, doors, and hallways that are too narrow for stretchers have, in some cases, led to women’s deaths. The abortion industry, however, calls requiring regulations for these sorts of things “TRAP” (Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers) laws, but when there are issues with rusty, blood-stained equipment, failures to follow basic hygiene requirements, surgical instruments not being sanitized between uses, and more, women are put at risk.

For too long, governmental authorities have looked the other way. Kennedy could have an impact in this regard.

12. Should federally-funded health education programs teach the science of prenatal development?

Will you commit to including accurate information on human prenatal development and alternatives to abortion in Title X programs?

There is a vast difference between Planned Parenthood’s version of sex education and informative education on sexual risk avoidance and age-appropriate and accurate information for students.

This includes accurate information about human prenatal development and abortion alternatives. Some states have begun introducing Live Action’s Baby Olivia or other ultrasound or prenatal development videos into their curricula, which is an important way that students can learn about the reality of prenatal development — how all of us began.

A Never Before Seen Look At Human Life In The Womb | Baby Olivia

Title X funding goes towards family planning services. Family planning education should absolutely include accurate information about prenatal development, as well as the life-affirming options women have when they are facing unexpected pregnancies – which so many women don’t even know exist.

13. Do you believe women should be told of potential risks of abortion before the procedure?

Will you advocate for informed consent laws at the federal level?

Informed consent is one of the most basic tenets of health care: patients have the right to know what they are risking before undergoing any medical procedure. Yet the abortion industry, again, fights fiercely against informed consent for women, who should know what they are risking.

The abortion industry won’t give women informed consent about abortion on its own; they are known to peddle in misinformation and outright lies. Kennedy, as HHS secretary, could make it a priority to ensure women are getting accurate information.

* The FDA has received reports of serious adverse events in patients who took mifepristone. As of December 31, 2022, there were 32 reports of deaths in patients associated with mifepristone since the product was approved in September 2000, including two cases of ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy located outside the womb, such as in the fallopian tubes) resulting in death; and several fatal cases of severe systemic infection (also called sepsis). The adverse events cannot with certainty be causally attributed to mifepristone because of concurrent use of other drugs, other medical or surgical treatments, co-existing medical conditions, and information gaps about patient health status and clinical management of the patient. A summary report of adverse events that reflects data through December 31, 2022, is here. The FDA has reviewed this information and did not identify any new safety signals. The FDA intends to update this summary report as appropriate.

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