Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy calls for expedited abortion pill review as primary nears

Ariel Cohen, CQ-Roll Call on May 5, 2026

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WASHINGTON — Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, at risk of further distancing himself from President Donald Trump as his primary election draws closer, says the administration isn’t doing enough to restrict access to abortion pills.

Cassidy, one of the few remaining Republicans in Congress who voted to convict Trump at his impeachment trial after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, on Tuesday accused the administration of moving too slowly in reviewing the safety of the abortion medication mifepristone. Many expect the review won’t be complete until after the midterm elections in November.

The issue has renewed relevancy, though, as Louisiana is the center of a Supreme Court fight over whether to restrict the ability to obtain mifepristone by mail through telemedicine appointments.

That stance is similar to what many other Republicans in Congress are saying, but it takes on special weight for Cassidy ahead of the state’s May 16 primary election in which he trails in several polls.

“The FDA must stop dragging its feet and reinstate commonsense safeguards to protect women from abuse and coercion,” Cassidy said Tuesday in response to a question about a court ruling reinstating bans on mail-order abortion pills.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday reinstated a Food and Drug Administration requirement that patients visit medical providers in person to obtain mifepristone rather than by mail through a prescription via telemedicine. In the case brought by Louisiana, a three-judge panel said order-by-mail violates strict state abortion bans. Federal courts rarely step in to limit access to an FDA-approved drug, typically deferring to an agency’s rulemaking.

The Supreme Court, after mifepristone manufacturer Danco Laboratories LLC intervened, on Monday temporarily reinstated a Biden-era rule allowing the pills to be sent by post — setting up a final decision by May 11, just days before Cassidy’s primary.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA last year said they would reexamine whether the agency’s drug safety program is “sufficient” in regulating mifepristone, even as it approved an additional generic form shortly after.

House GOP appropriators in a draft committee report accompanying the fiscal 2027 Agriculture spending bill say they’re “aware of and support the internal review of the safety and efficacy of mifepristone,” and expect a briefing on it. But when that arrives isn’t clear.

Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, as well as most Republicans, say the abortion medication is unsafe and have been pushing for results from that review.

The prominent anti-abortion organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America endorsed Cassidy in January partly because of that stance. President Marjorie Dannenfelser praised him for leading the “fight for accountability on dangerous mail-order abortion drugs” and promoting policies that eliminate abortion coverage from the federal health marketplaces.

While Trump has endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-aligned MAHA PAC pledged $1 million to Letlow’s campaign, mifepristone isn’t likely to become a wedge issue in the three-way Senate primary that also includes Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming.

Letlow is a co-sponsor of legislation that would end relaxed standards for prescribing the abortion pill, and Fleming is a staunch anti-abortion Republican and former doctor who has favored restricting access to abortions.

During an April 22 appearance before the HELP panel, Cassidy badgered Kennedy, who is the HHS secretary, about what Cassidy called “the illegal importation and sale of counterfeit and unapproved abortion drugs.” Kennedy said the FDA is “seriously” looking into the issue, but the chairman didn’t seem to buy it.

“That is not the case,” Cassidy said after Kennedy told him the FDA is doing “as much as possible” to stop the sale of counterfeit abortion drugs.

Polling shows a tight race with Cassidy generally trailing his two opponents. According to an Emerson College poll, Cassidy is several points behind Letlow and Fleming, who are neck and neck, though other polls from March had given Cassidy a slight edge.

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