WASHINGTON–Congressman Jim Banks (R-IN) and Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) along with many other pro-life members of Congress, submitted a letter to the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Norman Sharpless, M.D., asking that the FDA retain the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) that currently exists in relation to mifepristone (RU-486).

RU-486 is part of a two-drug chemical abortion method that currently makes up 39 percent of all abortions, according to The Guttmacher Institute (the former special research affiliate of Planned Parenthood).

“We thank Congressman Banks and all the members who have asked that the FDA keep the REMS for RU-486,” stated Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life. “While the current REMS are not enough to fully protect patient health, removing them completely could jeopardize the health and lives of thousands of women.”

Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers have called for the removal of the REMS for mifepristone.

REMS are required for medications that have serious safety concerns/issues. REMS for mifepristone include that it be prescribed by a certified prescriber. The REMS also require that a woman be informed of the safety risks and complications. The prescriber must also be able to determine if the woman is pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy which can be life threatening. The mifepristone abortion method is contraindicated for ectopic pregnancies.

“Pro-life Americans mourn the loss of every child whose heart is stopped by an RU-486 abortion,” stated Tobias. “Pro-abortion groups, in an effort to spread the scourge of abortion, are just as willing to endanger the lives of women.”