Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, is pressing the Food and Drug Administration for answers on the delayed abortion pill study, arguing that the findings could affect conservatives’ efforts to end federal funding for abortion.
In a letter obtained by the Daily Signal, Roy asked FDA Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas for an update on the publication timeline for the study. If the agency does not act promptly, Roy vows to work to prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to make abortions accessible through the 2023 removal of the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone.
“House Republicans cannot be expected to continue funding the implementation of the January 2023 REMS modifications indefinitely while FDA repeatedly extends its review without committing to corrective action,” the letter reads.
In 2023, the Biden administration removed the in-person dispensing requirement from the mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, making abortion drugs available by mail. The study began in September 2025 with a promise to be completed by the end of 2026. However, in a new legal filing, the FDA announced the study is on track, but the findings will not be published until March 2027.
Earlier this year, Roy offered an amendment that sought to prohibit federal funds from being used to implement, administer, or enforce the FDA’s January 2023 changes to the mifepristone REMS. After discussions with the FDA and the administration, Roy says he withdrew his amendment in good faith based on the understanding that the FDA would complete and publish the mifepristone safety study this fall.
“I did not withdraw my amendment so that FDA could conduct an open-ended review while continuing to administer the Biden Administration’s policy.
FDA’s October 7th filing only reinforces this concern,” the letter continues.
In the letter, Roy asks for four major updates.
Roy wants to know the agency’s actions since he withdrew his amendment to halt abortion funding. He is seeking a status update on the mifepristone and REMS study and an explanation of why the FDA is postponing publication of the results.
Roy is also seeking an explanation of when the agency anticipates making a regulatory decision about the 2023 REMS modifications, whether it intends to reinstate the in-person requirement, and the expected timeline for action.
“Every day FDA delays action is another day this dangerous regulatory regime remains in place, allowing more abortion pills to be distributed by mail and more unborn children to lose their lives,” Roy writes.
“If FDA will not act to reverse those modifications, including reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement, Congress must act. Absent prompt action by the agency, I will seek to include my amendment in the next continuing resolution to prohibit taxpayer dollars from being used to implement, administer, or enforce the January 2023 REMS modifications,” the letter concludes.
Roy is seeking a response from the agency no later than Oct. 27. The FDA did not immediately respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
