Indiana Senator asks FTC to investigate abortion pill manufacturers

U.S. Senator Jim Banks (R-Ind.) has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate manufacturers and distributors of the abortion pill for making false or misleading medical and safety claims.

Key Takeaways:

• U.S. Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana has asked the FTC to investigate companies that manufacture and distribute the abortion pill.

• He accused the companies of deceptive trade practices.

• Banks' letter follows a similar letter sent by Senator Josh Hawley to the Department of Justice, requesting that it investigate the mifepristone manufacturer, Danco Laboratories.

The Details:

In his letter to the FTC, Banks accused abortion pill manufacturers and distributors of deceptive trade practices and called on the FTC to hold these companies to the same standards as other companies.

“Mifepristone manufacturers and dispensers continue to mislead pregnant women into thinking that abortion drugs are much safer than they really are, and that even if something bad does happen, they can receive appropriate treatment without disclosing their abortion,” he wrote.

He argued that companies that profit from a drug must be honest about the risks related to the drugs and held accountable.

As previously reported by Live Action News, the medical malpractice website AbortionInjury.com noted that despite mifepristone being marketed as “safe and simple" — even safer than Tylenol — women have suffered from serious adverse effects, including hemorrhaging and life-threatening infections.

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Zoom In:

Banks' letter referenced a report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center, which found that nearly 11% of women who take the abortion pill experience serious complications — a rate 22 times higher than what Danco admits to on its label. Banks also noted the death of Amber Thurman, who died from septic shock after taking the abortion pill.

"There is no scientific basis for the claim that mifepristone is 'safer than Tylenol,'" said Banks. He noted that these drugs are now available online without doctor oversight and shipped nationwide and globally.

Banks' letter follows a previous letter sent on April 14 from Sen. Josh Hawley to the Department of Justice, urging it to investigate the manufacturers and distributors of the abortion pill. Hawley specifically asked for an investigation into the mifepristone manufacturer Danco's original FDA approval and marketing practices.

Hawley's letter accused Danco of "prey[ing]" on women, lying to them, and "profiting at the expense of women who have taken the drug and been seriously harmed by it."

The Bottom Line:

Women who have been injured by the abortion pill can call Hawley's hotline to report those injuries confidentially to his office by calling "(202) 224-6154 or emailing AbortionDrugHarms@hawley.senate.gov."