2024 GOP presidential hopefuls have anti-medication abortion agendas

See for yourself

A Trump-nominated judge in Texas ruled that the abortion medication mifepristone was unlawful, creating a nationwide injunction to block the provision of the pill. The ruling is the result of a decades-long Republican-led effort to limit abortion access.

If the far-reaching decision stands, Republicans will have successfully disrupted access to medication abortion across the country, including in states with strong abortion rights protections, including Colorado, California, and New York.

Here is a comprehensive breakdown of where the 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls stand on medication abortion:

Donald Trump

• Trump nominated Matthew Kacsmaryk, the judge responsible for the ruling that instituted a preliminary injunction to stop the sale and distribution of Mifepristone.
• In 2021, the Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to reinstate a burdensome rule requiring abortion seekers to have an in-person visit to acquire a prescription for medication abortion.

Ron DeSantis

• As governor, DeSantis has warned pharmacies not to distribute medication abortion, saying “they are not going to be offering that in the state of Florida.”
• DeSantis’ Agency for Healthcare Administration has already told pharmacies that it is illegal to dispense medication abortion under Florida law.

Mike Pence

• While touring the country before his rumored presidential primary announcement, Pence has called medication abortion “really dangerous” and has said “we need to” ban Mifepristone.
• As governor of Indiana, Pence signed legislation “tightening the state’s regulations on the distribution of the abortion pill and the clinics that provide only drug-induced abortions.”
• True to form, Pence celebrated the ruling and how anti-abortion extremists “won again.”

Nikki Haley

• In an effort to justify banning medication abortion, Haley’s PAC falsely claimed that medication abortion is four times as dangerous as surgical abortion.

Tim Scott

• As a U.S. Senator, Scott has co-sponsored legislation to restrict access to medication abortion. Scott also voted for the judge presiding in the case, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.

Mike Pompeo

• While serving in the House, Pompeo signed a letter criticizing the FDA for increasing access to Mifepristone.
• Pompeo has also criticized the Biden administration for making “abortive medication widely available.”

Kristi Noem

• As governor of South Dakota, Noem has worked to eliminate the option of medication abortions through telemedicine and has restricted medication abortion through an executive order during the pandemic.
• Noem has also threatened to charge pharmacists who dispense medication abortion despite the FDA’s declaration that it can be distributed at all retail pharmacies.

Asa Hutchinson

• Hutchinson signed a law banning telemedicine abortions and requiring a physician to be in the room when administering a medication abortion.

Greg Abbott

• Shortly after passing a near-total abortion ban, Abbott signed legislation that restricts the window for receiving medication abortion and prevents pharmacies from mailing the prescription to patients.

For years, Republicans have been fighting to reduce access to these types of medication, and now in the wake of the Dobbs decision, candidates — including those eyeing 2024’s Republican presidential primary — will have to own the consequences of their anti-abortion agendas.