January 12, 2022
“Joe Biden’s pick to head the embattled FDA has a track record of prioritizing the desires of Abortion pill pushers over the needs of women who may want to survive taking them,” said SFLAction’s Kristan Hawkins. “Students for Life Action will score the Senate vote on Dr. Robert Califf who has shown that he cares more about abortion than the needs of women and their children, born and preborn.”
WASHINGTON D.C. (01-12-2021) – As the U.S. Senate prepares to take up the nomination of Dr. Robert Califf as President Biden’s pick to head the FDA, Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins sent a letter to Senators urging a NO vote on the known abortion advocate. Hawkins observed, “Dr. Califf is unfit for this FDA position due to his history of disregarding science and the wellbeing of the American people to advance the interests of the pharmaceutical lobby.”
To read Hawkins letter to the Senate, click here.
Late last year, Hawkins discussed Students for Life Action’s opposition to Califf who “would be joining an administration known for radical abortion activism and abusive use of political power to serve abortion industry interests.”
Califf in particular has championed reduced health and safety standards for Chemical Abortion Pills, that now end 54 percent of preborn lives lost to abortion by 9 weeks.
As Hawkins wrote recently for National Review, an op-ed piece titled, “The Abortion Lobby Doubles Down on Risky Chemical Abortion Pills,” “getting rid of health and safety standards for chemical abortion is anti-woman and anti-science. The pills cause four times the complications as surgical abortion, with a risk of death that is ten times higher, according to a National Institute of Health Study.
“FDA reports numerous side effects. Between 5 and 7 percent of women who take Chemical Abortion Pills will need a follow-up surgery to end the pregnancy. And an Australian study noted that up to 8 percent of women who took the pills in that country ended up in an emergency room. Similar math is even reported by the abortion industry.”
Students for Life of America and Students for Life Action has prioritized stopping expanded distribution of deadly Chemical Abortion Pills that have cost more than 20 women their lives, along with countless preborn babies. The life ending drugs carry the risk of infection, surgery, infertility, depression, horrifying pain, and even death for both mother and child.
As SFLA has noted before, our efforts include in part:
- Fighting California’s efforts to require all publicly funded colleges and universities to distribute deadly Chemical Abortion Pills through school healthcare centers, through rallies, lobby days, community engagement, testifying, and aggressive social media and traditional media engagement.
- Supporting the SFLAction inspired Legislation Introduced by U.S. Representative Chip Roy (R-TX) and U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), The Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2021 that would prohibit federal funds from being directed to institutions of higher education that offer abortion procedures and Chemical Abortion Pills to students and faculty.
- Working with a powerhouse, pro-life coalition on state-based legislation to prevent deadly, online distribution.
- Developing a legislative operation to assist the 14 states where Chemical Abortion Legislation moved this session, using tools such rallies, lobby days, community engagement, testifying, and aggressive social and traditional media engagement, as well as targeted political efforts to achieve a pro-life win.
- Curating the “This is Chemical Abortion” website for up-to-the-minute information and tools to confront the harms of Chemical Abortion, which includes a docuseries “This is Chemical Abortion,” part of an extensive grassroots education effort, partnering with Charlotte Pence-Bond and Heartbeat International.
- Highlighting the medical realities that abortion harms women’s health and fertility through multiple platforms and grassroots engagement.
For interviews, contact Kristi Hamrick at [email protected] or [email protected]
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Students for Life Action (SFLAction), a 501c4, along with its sister organization, Students for Life of America (SFLA),a 501c3, make up the nation’s largest, pro-life, youth organization as well as operating a political and policy operation engaging people of all ages. Together they work to end abortion, the human rights issue of our day, and provide political, legal, and community support for women and their children, born and preborn. Headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA, SFLA has more than 1,250groups on middle, high school, college, university, medical and law school campuses in all 50 states. SFLA creates strategy, policy and programming that connects those most targeted for abortion with people ready to help and builds a framework for political engagement on their behalf. SFLA/SFLAction has more conversations with those most targeted by the abortion industry every day, week, and year than any other pro-life outreach in the world. Every week, Students for Life entities reach more than 2 million people across social media platforms to have nearly 200,000 digital conversations. Under the leadership of SFLA/SFLAction President Kristan Hawkins, who was recruited to build the organization, SFLA has grown over the last 15 years into a $15 million organization preparing for a Post-Roe America.