Trump Administration Deliberately Undermined FDA's Mifepristone Regulations to Restrict Abortion Access
Source: Naomi Cahn, Sonia M. Suter. "Supreme Court news: A radical court calls Trump’s abortion bluff.." May 4, 2026. slate.com
The Gist
The authors argue that Trump's team is secretly working with conservative courts to ban abortion pills by pretending the FDA made mistakes, even though decades of research prove the pills are safe. They're doing this behind the scenes so they don't get blamed directly.
Conclusion
The Trump administration deliberately undermined the FDA's mifepristone regulations to enable judicial restrictions on abortion access while maintaining plausible deniability
Premises
- The Trump administration's FDA announced a review of mifepristone's safety based on a widely debunked report described as 'junk science'
- The FDA conceded 'lack of adequate consideration' in prior regulatory changes, which the 5th Circuit relied on heavily in its ruling
- The Trump administration failed to defend the case on merits and didn't appeal the 5th Circuit decision, unlike other defendants
- FDA Commissioner Marty Makary told officials to delay the mifepristone review 'until after the midterm elections,' indicating political rather than scientific motivations
- Decades of scientific evidence demonstrate mifepristone's safety and efficacy, with over 100 studies showing it's as safe as ibuprofen
- The 5th Circuit's nationwide injunction directly contradicts established scientific consensus and affects one-fourth of all U.S. abortions
Assumptions
- The Trump administration's actions were coordinated rather than coincidental
- Scientific evidence should be the primary basis for FDA drug regulations
- The timing of political decisions reveals underlying motivations
- Courts should defer to agency expertise on scientific and medical matters