Despite his campaign promise to leave the issue of abortion to the states, President-elect Donald Trump’s administration is set to shape the national landscape around abortion and reproductive health.
Trump’s appointment of Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade has sparked a political backlash that his second administration will have to navigate. The court’s 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has created a new set of legal challenges for the incoming administration.
Two cases on the horizon involve federal regulations that have made it easier to obtain abortion pills and whether an emergency room patient is entitled to an abortion, even in states that ban the procedure, if their health is at risk.
Additionally, the Trump administration will face pressure to reverse Biden-era policies aimed at shoring up access to abortion and potentially undermining efforts by blue states to respond to Roe’s reversal. The administration may also be forced to decide on changes to how the abortion drug mifepristone is regulated.
Abortion rights advocates argue that if the Trump Justice Department refuses to continue defending federal policies, the administration would be using the courts to implement nationwide cuts to abortion access that Trump claims he wouldn’t pursue.
On the other hand, anti-abortion activists argue that the Trump administration can adopt policies that wouldn’t violate his campaign promises. They suggest reversing Biden-era moves and returning to certain anti-abortion policies from Trump’s first term.
The Trump administration will also have to navigate legal challenges to federal regulations, including those involving the FDA’s approval of mifepristone and whether an emergency room patient is entitled to an abortion, even in states that ban the procedure. The incoming administration may also have to decide on changes to how the FDA regulates the drug, which could potentially lead to a constitutional crisis.
The Trump Justice Department will also have to choose whether to continue defending the US Food and Drug Administration’s regulations for mifepristone, as well as other FDA-approved drugs. Anti-abortion advocates argue that the Trump administration has the option to use the regulatory process to make changes to the drug, but any efforts to reverse the FDA approval for the generic version of mifepristone could face legal challenges from manufacturers and other parties.
In addition to these legal challenges, the Trump administration will also have to navigate the political fallout from its stance on abortion. Some anti-abortion activists argue that Trump wouldn’t be violating his campaign vows by undoing Biden’s policies, while others suggest that he could go further to undermine the efforts of blue states to respond to Roe’s reversal. The administration’s selection of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as HHS secretary, a former Democrat who has been favorable to abortion rights, has prompted concern about whether HHS will continue to take the kinds of actions that were taken during the first Trump term.