Anti-abortion group applauds Kennedy remarks at confirmation hearing

During a recent hearing on his nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that President Donald Trump had asked him to study the safety of the abortion drug mifepristone. 

“He has not yet taken a stand on how to regulate it,” Kennedy said during the hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance. “Whatever he does, I will implement those policies.”

Mifepristone has been extensively studied and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration over 20 years ago. The Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive health policy, reported in 2024 that 63% of all abortions in the United States in 2023 were performed using medications, an increase of 10% since 2020.

Taken with the drug misoprostol as a two-step nonsurgical abortion regime that can be done by patients at home, mifepristone is often prescribed via telehealth and sent to patients, including some living in states where abortion is severely restricted or banned. 

During the hearing, Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire referred to Kennedy’s remark that Trump had asked him to study the safety of mifepristone, and, brandishing a stack of papers, said: “Here are the safety studies that tell us mifepristone is safe and effective. … The studies are there. The safety is proved The science is there. But what you’re telling us is if President Trump orders you to take action to make it harder for women to get direly needed health care, you’ll follow his order.” 

The head of the conservative group Americans United for Life hailed Kennedy’s appearance at the hearing. “Today, we received clear signals that the prolife movement can work with RFK Junior. Acknowledging that every abortion is a tragedy left my team applauding,” John Mize wrote on X.

Following the hearing, Alexis McGill Johnson, the president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement: “It is no surprise that a man who has repeatedly shown disregard for science and health care has now come out against abortion rights and reproductive freedom. There is nothing tragic about people making their own deeply personal decisions about their bodies, lives, and futures without the government interfering. The real tragedy is the health care crisis that President Donald Trump helped create with the overturning of Roe, and that RFK Jr. appears intent on worsening.”  

Even before his nomination, in April 2024, Kennedy said he was concerned about the risks and side effects of mifepristone. In an interview with Raymond Arroyo, the host of a program called “The World Over” on the Catholic cable network EWTN, he said, “I think we ought to know what the side effects are, what the risks are, what the benefits, and that everyone should have informed choice, and we don’t have that now.” Asked specifically if he would have abortion medications removed from pharmacies, Kennedy said he would not.

Kennedy has a long history of promoting misleading information, including about abortion, vaccines, HIV, and COVID-19. 

In June 2024, Kennedy repeated misinformation about abortion that has repeatedly been debunked when he said in a video posted to Facebook: “Sometimes women abort healthy, viable late-term fetuses. These cases of purely elective late-term abortions are very upsetting.” In a 2023 interview with NBC News, Kennedy said he would sign a federal ban on abortion after the first three months of pregnancy.

On Feb. 4, the Finance Committee voted to advance Kennedy’s nomination to the full Senate. If he does not receive support from Senate Democrats, he will need all but three votes from Republicans. Vice President J.D. Vance would break a tie vote if needed.