{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-cassidy-colleagues-launch-investigation-into-abortion-drug-manufacturers-urge-fda-to-crack-down-on-illegal-online-sellers/", "Lankford, Cassidy, Colleagues\u00a0Launch Investigation into\u00a0Abortion\u00a0Drug\u00a0Manufacturers,\u00a0Urge\u00a0FDA\u00a0to\u00a0Crack Down on Illegal Online Sellers", "2026-03-25", "2026", "2026-03", "Republican", "Senate", "OK", "James Lankford", "L000575", "www.lankford.senate.gov", "lankford", "https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "page_html", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2014 US Senators James Lankford (R-OK), Chair of the Senate Values Action Team, Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Steve Daines (R-MT), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) began an investigation into chemical abortion drug manufacturer compliance with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-mandated safeguards associated with marketing their drugs. The senators also urged the FDA to leverage its authorities to combat the illegal sale of unapproved and misbranded chemical abortion drugs into the US by online entities.\n\n\u201cChemical abortion drugs are being sold online with little oversight, putting women at risk and ending innocent lives,\u201d said Lankford. \u201cThe FDA must enforce the law, hold manufacturers accountable and crack down on illegal distribution. Basic safeguards exist for a reason and should be reinstated.\u201d\n\n\u201cChemical abortion drug makers profit off killing innocent children while putting mothers\u2019 lives at risk,\u201d said Dr. Cassidy. \u201cThese manufacturers and websites have facilitated the explosion in online sales of these harmful drugs without regard for women\u2019s health and safety while opening the door for coercion and abuse. FDA should act within its existing authorities to curb this abuse and immediately reinstate safeguards such as the in-person dispensing requirement.\u201d\n\nBackground\n\nPrevious Democrat administrations recklessly removed the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program requirements for reporting non-fatal adverse events and in-person dispensing to receive the chemical abortion drugs, among other important safeguards. Ending these requirements has led to horrific instances of coerced abortions and serious adverse events going untreated and undetected.\n\nDespite these dangers, it is unclear how the three FDA-approved chemical abortion drug manufacturers, Danco, GenBioPro, and Evita, ensure that prescribers and pharmacies comply with the few remaining REMS requirements, especially when pills are sold online and without the in-person oversight of a medical professional.\n\nAdditionally, various types of domestic and international websites appear to illegally sell unapproved and misbranded chemical abortion drugs directly to U.S. consumers, often with no prescription, no medical oversight, and no assurances on whether the drug is actually what the seller claims it is. As it did under the first Trump administration, FDA must use all of the tools at its disposal to protect women and children.\n\nYou can read the full letter to Danco HERE.\n\nYou can read the full letter to GenBioPro HERE.\n\nYou can read the full letter to Evita HERE.\n\nYou can read the full letter to FDA HERE.\n\n###", 1, "2026-04-04T05:28:40Z", "2026-04-04T05:30:10Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lankford.senate.gov/news/press-releases/lankford-cassidy-colleagues-launch-investigation-into-abortion-drug-manufacturers-urge-fda-to-crack-down-on-illegal-online-sellers/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9054411202669144, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}