FDA Left Unaccountable For Abortion Drug Harms

Published

5 months ago

June 21, 2024

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Ever since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed basic safeguards on high-risk abortion drugs, women have been suffering. Many women who take these drugs are told to expect mild pain, only to be shocked by the excruciating experience of an at-home abortion without any in-person care or visits with a doctor to let them know when emergency care is necessary. Women deserve better.

Unfortunately, women will continue to be harmed by what the FDA has done, for now. On June 13, the Supreme Court declined to address the merits of a case brought against the FDA over its removal of basic protections for women taking abortion drugs.

My organization, Alliance Defending Freedom, represented frontline doctors who are witnessing firsthand the harms inflicted by the FDAs reckless removal of commonsense protections, like in-person visits to check for ectopic pregnancies. While its disappointing that the Supreme Courts decision didnt address the FDAs reckless actions and that women will continue to suffer, we are grateful that three states stand ready to hold the FDA accountable, since they are not precluded from moving forward with litigation.

That accountability is important because, when the FDA first approved abortion drugs in 2000, it required doctors to provide ongoing care to women using the drugs, including in-person visits to check for ectopic pregnancies, severe bleeding, and life-threatening infections. Yet in a pair of highly politicized decisionsfirst in 2016, then in 2021the FDA endangered womens health by stripping away those requirements for in-person care. Indeed, data the FDA cites shows that hospitalizations increase over 300% with no in-person doctor visit.

But putting the abortion industrys bottom line over womens health, the FDA has left women to perform their own abortions at home or in their dorm rooms without critical medical attention and relying on emergency-room doctors, like those we represent, to care for anticipated complications.

Abortion drugs are not safe. The FDAs own label has long warned that roughly one out of 25 women who take them will end up in the ER, and documents show that 7% will require surgery. But the FDA removed its original safeguards anyway. Thus, since the removal of these safeguards, our doctors have seen a huge surge in women experiencing complications and needing their care. That was no shock to the FDA, which acknowledged that women harmed by these drugs would need to rely on emergency rooms instead of the prescribers who gave them the drugs, despite how overwhelmed emergency rooms already are.

In a telling moment at oral argument before the Supreme Court, the abortion drug manufacturer Danco admitted that its primary interest in this case was its profits. When Justice Samuel Alito asked Dancos attorney to explain what injury the company would suffer if the FDAs original safeguards were re-applied, she answered, We are prevented from selling our product. So much for caring about womens health.

Both the federal district court and the circuit court agreed with us that the FDA should be held accountable for endangering womens health. Women who had suffered from the FDAs recklessness felt they were finally heard and hoped the FDA would do its job so no more women experience the excruciating pain and isolation of an at-home abortion. But, at oral argument, the U.S. solicitor general concerningly claimed that nobody, not even the frontline doctors who treat and care for women harmed by abortion drugs, can challenge the FDAs removal of common-sense protections.

While the FDA managed to avoid accountability on a legal technicality in this case, the states of Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho are ready to step in to hold the FDA accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of women and girls. No federal agency is above the law, and women deserve the in-person care of a doctor when taking high-risk drugs.

So, while the agency may have gotten away with endangering womens health for now, this lawsuit backed the federal government into a corner. The governments initial position was that federal law would not protect our doctors from being forced to participate in abortions. But, at the Supreme Court, the government changed its position and said that federal conscience laws protect doctors in these circumstances. And the court agreed, emphatically stating in its 9-0 decision that [f]ederal law fully protects doctors against being required to provide abortions or other medical treatment against their consciences.

Its encouraging that the court broadly affirmed conscience rights for medical professionals. But that doesnt change the fact that the agencys removal of commonsense safeguards for women using abortion drugs is as wrong today as it was before. ADF and the doctors and medical associations in this case will continue to stand for womens health and expose the reckless actions of the FDA while the states continue their fight in the lower courts.

* * *

Gabriella McIntyre is legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom ( @ADFLegal ), which represents four doctors and four medical associations in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine .

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Entertainment

YouTuber Jake Paul strikes defeat against former boxing champ Mike Tyson in Texas

Published

1 hour ago

November 16, 2024

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YouTuber Jake Paul strikes defeat against former boxing champ Mike Tyson in Texas

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has defeated one of the greatest-ever fighters, former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson, who’s more than twice his age.

The bout was won on a unanimous points decision at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – home of the Dallas Cowboys and the biggest NFL stadium in the US.

The fight was already controversial but then arguably failed to live up to the hype. Boos were heard from the crowd in the final two rounds, after a perceived lack of action.

Boxing careers compared

This was not Paul’s first professional fight. The 27-year-old American YouTube star made his debut in 2020 with his most high-profile clash against Tyson Fury’s brother Tommy Fury last year, which he lost by a split decision.

The so-called “Problem Child” has since defeated former UFC contender Nate Diaz, professional boxer Andre August, former Gold Gloves champion Ryan Bourland and most recently MMA fighter Mike Perry.

In contrast, “Iron Mike” Tyson, 58, was ranked among the best heavyweight boxers of all time.

During his career, he knocked out 44 opponents – retiring from professional boxing in 2005 after defeat against Kevin McBride.

He returned to the ring in 2020 for a bout against fellow boxing icon Roy Jones, which ended in an unofficial draw.

‘Someone’s getting put to sleep’

Earlier this week, Paul said he believed the bout would not go the distance. “No, someone’s getting put to sleep,” he said. “It’s going to be a war, and we’re both heavy hitters. It’s not going the full 16 minutes.”

Tyson was more reflective: “I’ve been through so many ups and downs since my last fight with Kevin McBride,” he said.

“I’ve been in rehab. I’ve been in prison, been locked up. Never in a million years did I believe I’d be doing this.”

Several states would not allow the bout to go ahead, and the Texas Athletic Commission only agreed to the fight if there were changes, due to Tyson’s age.

It limited the contest to eight rounds lasting a maximum of two minutes instead of three. Both boxers were also required to wear heavier gloves, designed to lessen the force of punches.

The fight was initially scheduled for 20 July, but was postponed when Tyson suffered an ulcer flareup.

Taylor defends title

Meanwhile, among the undercard fights, Irish boxer Katie Taylor successfully defended her super lightweight world title against Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano.

But it was tight. Taylor claimed the rematch 95-94 for all three judges in an epic battle.

The bout came two and a half years after the pair fought at Madison Square Garden, which Taylor won on a split decision.

Bout suffered from buffering

Earlier in the evening thousands of Netflix users in the US reported problems seeing the coverage, with some posting on social media about buffering.

At one point, more than 98,000 people had reported issues according to Downdetector, which tracks outages.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

US

YouTuber Jake Paul strikes defeat against former boxing champ Mike Tyson in Texas

Published

1 hour ago

November 16, 2024

admin

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul has defeated one of the greatest-ever fighters, former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson, who’s more than twice his age.

The bout was won on a unanimous points decision at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas – home of the Dallas Cowboys and the biggest NFL stadium in the US.

The fight was already controversial but then arguably failed to live up to the hype. Boos were heard from the crowd in the final two rounds, after a perceived lack of action.

Boxing careers compared

In contrast, “Iron Mike” Tyson, 58, was ranked among the best heavyweight boxers of all time.

During his career, he knocked out 44 opponents – retiring from professional boxing in 2005 after defeat against Kevin McBride.

He returned to the ring in 2020 for a bout against fellow boxing icon Roy Jones, which ended in an unofficial draw.

‘Someone’s getting put to sleep’

Tyson was more reflective: “I’ve been through so many ups and downs since my last fight with Kevin McBride,” he said.

“I’ve been in rehab. I’ve been in prison, been locked up. Never in a million years did I believe I’d be doing this.”

Several states would not allow the bout to go ahead, and the Texas Athletic Commission only agreed to the fight if there were changes, due to Tyson’s age.

It limited the contest to eight rounds lasting a maximum of two minutes instead of three. Both boxers were also required to wear heavier gloves, designed to lessen the force of punches.

The fight was initially scheduled for 20 July, but was postponed when Tyson suffered an ulcer flareup.

Taylor defends title

Meanwhile, among the undercard fights, Irish boxer Katie Taylor successfully defended her super lightweight world title against Puerto Rico’s Amanda Serrano.

But it was tight. Taylor claimed the rematch 95-94 for all three judges in an epic battle.

The bout came two and a half years after the pair fought at Madison Square Garden, which Taylor won on a split decision.

Bout suffered from buffering

Earlier in the evening thousands of Netflix users in the US reported problems seeing the coverage, with some posting on social media about buffering.

At one point, more than 98,000 people had reported issues according to Downdetector, which tracks outages.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

Politics

Elon Musk ‘shot down’ OpenAI’s ICO plan in 2018 over credibility concerns

Published

2 hours ago

November 16, 2024

admin

<div>Elon Musk 'shot down' OpenAI's ICO plan in 2018 over credibility concerns</div>

According to a court filing, Elon Musk said that the proposed initial coin offering (ICO) “would simply result in a massive loss of credibility for OpenAI.”