WASHINGTON – “It is jarring and contradictory that, at the same time that the Food and Drug Administration is conducting a much-needed review of the supposed safety of the abortion pill for women, it is nonetheless approving a new generic for this deadly drug,” said Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

Responding to reports last week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved an additional generic for the abortion drug, mifepristone, Bishop Thomas continued, “The FDA took shortcuts in originally approving and loosening protocols for Mifepristone, which enabled the killing of more children and placed the health of more women in danger. Even if it eventually had to be approved as a generic version of the same drug, to do so now and make it more available before a recently announced safety study can be completed, potentially saving lives, is a shocking inconsistency. Mothers in need and their preborn children deserve better. They deserve the fullest, most authentic care that we can offer in all respects. I pray that the forthcoming review of Mifepristone will undo many of these tragic developments and that we may, instead, meet women with hope and meaningful support.”

In July, the USCCB’s Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities joined a letter to the FDA commissioner, submitting a paper by the Catholic Medical Association on the dangers of mifepristone to women, available here.