Abortion

Axios - Sen. Josh Hawley's push for a vote in Congress to ban the abortion drug mifepristone is elevating an issue that many Republicans were hoping not to address before the midterm elections. Lawmakers and the White House face internal tensions over how far to go in limiting access to the procedure and risking blowback from women and swing voters.

Hawley (R-Mo.) introduced his bill last week alongside leaders in the anti-abortion movement.

• It was a sign of frustration with the pace of an FDA investigation into the safety of the pills that Hawley helped spur last year.
• His bill also comes as anti-abortion advocates are showing increased impatience with the Trump administration for not taking faster action against the pills and for defending mifepristone against red state lawsuits.

Any new federal limits on the availability of the widely used pills would be highly controversial and portrayed by opponents as backtracking on President Trump's leave-it-to-the-states 2024 campaign pledge. While Hawley's bill won't get Democratic votes needed to advance in the Senate, it's roiling the waters within the GOP caucus.

• Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), locked in a tough primary, quickly endorsed the legislation.
• Senate health committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who's also facing a primary challenge, held a hearing in January on what he termed the dangers of mifepristone but hasn't said whether his panel will take up Hawley's bill. More