When it comes to addressing cultural issues from a Biblical perspective, there are a number of avenues at our disposal as followers of Christ. We can certainly be prayerful. And vocal. Using our voices to influence hearts and minds so that people might open their eyes to the truth of Scripture. We can even pray for and petition our leaders - and select leaders who support policies that would be beneficial to our culture based on Godly wisdom. The Bible says in Proverbs 29 (ESV):
2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice,
but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
3 He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,
but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
4 By justice a king builds up the land,
but he who exacts gifts tears it down.
For months, pro-life individuals and groups have heard that the Food and Drug Administration, which has been on a trajectory of relaxing regulations on the abortion pill, which is fatal to unborn children and dangerous to their mothers, would be looking into the potential harm of the pill. Yet, when it comes right down to it, there have been empty promises.
Until recently, apparently. The Daily Citizen has reported:
At long last, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced plans to study the safety of the drug mifepristone, better known as the “abortion pill.”
The article went on to say:
Advocates for the abortion pill are quick to downplay some of the serious side effects of the drug.
Some of those include hemorrhage, severe infection (sepsis), and undetected ectopic pregnancy, which is a life-threatening pregnancy outside the uterus. Common side effects include heavy bleeding and blood clots, cramping, nausea, fever and dizziness.
Those advocating for easy distribution of the abortion drug point to years of data purporting to prove its “safety and effectiveness.” Tragically, they ignore the danger of what can happen when unsuspecting women recklessly and cavalierly pop pills that are designed to kill the life of preborn children.
Article writer Paul Batura noted:
It’s been reported that former FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, who was fired last month, supported the idea of a review, but was awaiting new technology to make it happen. The study will involve pouring over medical records of women who have taken the drug and then evaluating health concerns and outcomes.
The story noted that Wall Street Journal had reported “the new study has the support of the White House.”
Well, that’s promising. Because the Administration has been reluctant to voice its opposition to the pill. Podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey, in a recent interview with Vice-President J.D. Vance, according to the Follow Jesus Instagram page…
…is drawing attention after pressing Vice President JD Vance on one of the biggest concerns in the pro-life movement today: the continued spread of at-home abortions through mail-order abortion pills. Stuckey noted that while the Trump administration has delivered several major pro-life wins, many advocates remain deeply concerned that the Biden-era FDA policy allowing mifepristone by mail has still not been reversed.
In response, Vance said the policy is already under review and stressed that the administration wants any future action to be grounded in a process that will hold up scientifically, legally, and in court. He also pointed to other recent victories, including expanded protections for embryos, the end of foreign abortion funding, and measures aimed at keeping taxpayer money away from abortion providers.
While the response seems to have been tepid, hopefully the facts, once they are weighed, will enable the President, Vice-President, and others in the Administration to do what they can to reduce or eliminate the distribution of the abortion pill.
Meanwhile, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has taken concrete action, according to Live Action, which reports, according to a press release:
AG Marshall’s office sent the cease-and-desist letters to six businesses on June 9.
Each company is accused of “illegally advertising, facilitating, and enabling the sale and procurement of chemical abortion-inducing drugs to consumers in Alabama.” Alabama law protects nearly all preborn children from abortion, and it also prohibits the mailing of chemical abortion drugs like the abortion pill.
Marshall is quoted as saying: “Alabama’s law is clear, abortion is illegal in this state. These companies are not only breaking the law, they are deceiving Alabama consumers about the very real dangers of these drugs. That stops now. Anyone who tries to exploit Alabamians for profit while flouting our laws will be prosecuted to the fullest extent permitted by law…”
The article goes on to say:
As noted in Marshall's press release, the abortion pill is risky for women despite the abortion industry's claims otherwise. A recent analysis of a large insurance database found that adverse events (complications) from the abortion pill occurred at a rate 22 times higher than that reported on the Food and Drug Administration's label for the drug. Still another study found that the abortion pill is four times more dangerous than a first-trimester surgical abortion.
That analysis referred to was also apparently the same one referenced in the Daily Citizen article.
Also, according to Marshall’s office, “As part of a 14-state coalition, Attorney General Marshall is requesting that the EPA add mifepristone to other pharmaceuticals included on the Contaminant Candidate List — which may lead to stricter regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.” The press release also says:
“Over the last decade,” states the Missouri-led letter to the EPA, “the FDA has eliminated many of the protections that minimized the health risks posed by mifepristone and its approved generics, including the in-person dispensing and check-up requirements that kept medical staff involved in the process. Not only were the FDA’s changes to the regimen and risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) unlawful and unsafe, but the loosened regulations have also increased the number of chemical abortions occurring in the home, resulting in tons of chemically tainted medical waste being flushed into American waterways.”
Attorney General Marshall calls this a “serious public health crisis.”
Now that the issue of abortion has been left to the states, unscrupulous operators, as Justice Clarence Thomas has noted, are engaging in criminal behavior in transporting the abortion pill across state lines, even into pro-life states. The house of cards surrounding the abortion pill, which is now the leading method of taking unborn human life, is hopefully beginning to fall.
One might echo the words of the Psalmist in Psalm 13 - “how long?” Unborn babies are continuing to die in America on a consistent basis due to abortion. Women are facing pronounced dangers to health. And, all Americans could be affected as environmental concerns are explored.
What can we do? Well, we can continue to pray. And, we can continue to speak. Pregnancy resource centers continue to be on the front lines regarding changing hearts and minds to value human life. Information can lead to influence, and centers, whether brick-and-mortar or mobile that offer ultrasound technology play a key role presenting the imagery of compelling truth.
As a recent guest on The Meeting House pointed out, we should be people who are devoted to eliminating abortion, not merely regulating it. We say we are pro-life; that is ideally a “zero-tolerance” statement. So we can ask, “what can I do?” to promote God’s truth on this issue. An issue that is intensely spiritual, not merely political.