Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is launching an investigation into mifepristone manufacturers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, which he says have profited from the pill despite its risks to women.
“Mounting evidence suggests that mifepristone poses grave risks to women. Yet your company has continued to profit from the widespread distribution of this drug even as serious questions have emerged about hemorrhage, infection, sepsis, and other dangerous complications associated with its use,” Hawley wrote to the companies in a letter obtained by Fox News, adding, “Congress must determine what your company knew about the harms associated with mifepristone, when it knew it, what it told regulators, and what it may have failed to disclose to women and the public.”
He urged the companies to share documents on the matter by April 24, including reports, internal databases, and other materials.
The investigation comes as Hawley has also introduced a bill to strip federal approval from mifepristone and ban its use for abortions across the country. The Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act would revoke the FDA’s approval of the drug and classify its distribution for abortion as a violation of federal law. The bill also gives women who suffer complications the right to sue manufacturers.
According to research from the Ethics and Public Policy Center, side effects from mifepristone occur at a rate 22 times higher than what is indicated on the FDA-approved drug label. The report found that more than 1 in 10 women reported experiencing infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious or life-threatening adverse event.
