Sununu makes rare admission of pro-choice stance while ripping abortion pill chaos

Emily Jacobs

April 15, 10:19 PM April 15, 10:29 PM

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu acknowledged his pro-choice position over the weekend while reiterating his concern that "hardline" stances from fellow Republicans will hurt the party's ability to reach new voters.

Sununu, a Republican, made the comments Saturday while discussing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, facing protests while visiting New Hampshire Friday night after signing a six week abortion ban into law. The New Hampshire governor said he believed that some of his GOP colleagues taking extreme positions, and at times implementing them, was harming the party's electorally.

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"My issue is I think it's a terrible message for for the Republican primary, I really do, I think it hurts us in the general election," Sununu said. "I think there are much more pressing issues, if you will, that are facing Americans like inflation, like fiscal responsibility, like border security. All of these are really the issues that have to be answered, that have to be provided solutions to."

The governor said the electorate was on his side on this issue. He argued that Republicans who pushed federal abortion bans ahead of the 2022 midterm elections alienated disaffected Democrats and independents who may have otherwise considered voting for GOP candidates.

The governor was referencing Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) proposing a national 15-week abortion ban just before last November. He called proposing such restrictions ahead of an election, "the dumbest thing you could possibly do."

Many political observers and pollsters have argued that the Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade last year was one of two primary causes for Republican's lackluster midterm showing. Former President Donald Trump's oft controversial primary picks failing to gain traction in the general election was also blamed for the party's much-anticipated red wave turning out to be a ripple.

The Wisconsin state Supreme Court race earlier this month, where the winning liberal candidate centered her candidacy on abortion access, furthered those concerns.

A U.S. District Court judge out of Texas ruled last week that the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, one part of a two-drug regimen to induce an abortion, should be suspended. The ruling was at odds with a similar one out of Washington state. By Friday, the Supreme Court stepped in with a stay on order, setting the stage for a high court ruling on the matter.

Asked if he thought a Supreme Court ruling to uphold the mifepristone ban would hurt the GOP further with independent voters, Sununu answered affirmatively.

"Yes, yeah absolutely. Look, [mifepristone has] been around for 20 years. The issue isn't so much about whether it gets banned or not. I mean, I'm pro-choice, I think it should be legal, that's fine. But it's all about these massive changes in precedent, right?" he said. "Roe v. Wade, whether you agreed with or not, there was a 50 year precedent there. There's a 20 year precedent with [mifepristone]. So now to the American public it looks like Republicans are coming in and trying to massively change and blow up the system."

Sununu said that while abortion was not "a non-issue," he believed some Republicans taking severe positions on the matter was turning away independents and "the younger generation of Republicans" which he said the party needs "to stop being so disenfranchised" so they "come back on the team."

"I just think the messaging as a whole is not where it needs to be," he continued, noting that "it'll be interesting to see" how 2024 Republican presidential candidates navigate the issue. "Ether way, I don't think it's anything that helps us in the long term. I just want to win in '24."

Biden tested by abortion pill access fight with uncertain GOP

Naomi Lim

April 13, 07:30 AM April 13, 07:30 AM

President Joe Biden is under pressure to secure access to an abortion pill that is part of a two-drug regimen relied on by more than half the women nationwide terminating pregnancies every year.

But while the White House remains mum on its contingency plan should it exhaust its legal options, Biden and Democrats are raising the ante on the political fight before next year's elections.

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Hours after a federal judge in Texas suspended the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, Biden warned "virtually no prescription" will "be safe from these kinds of political, ideological attacks" if his decision is allowed to stand.

"The lawsuit, and this ruling, is another unprecedented step in taking away basic freedoms from women and putting their health at risk," Biden said in a statement. "It is the next big step toward the national ban on abortion that Republican elected officials have vowed to make law in America."

Biden, who has advocated Congress to codify Roe v. Wade, then underscored his opposition to U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's decision before boarding Air Force One for his trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland.

“My thoughts are it’s completely out of bounds what the judge did,” Biden told reporters this week at Joint Base Andrews.

But similarly to how Biden and Democrats appear uncertain about how to respond to Kacsmaryk's highly anticipated decision, as they did after the Supreme Court overturned Roe, Republicans also differ on how to proceed following their underperformance in last November's midterm cycle due, in part, to Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Conservatives additionally lost control of Wisconsin's Supreme Court last week after Justice-elect Janet Claire Protasiewicz defeated Daniel Kelly by more than 10 percentage points following a campaign that focused on abortion.

One Republican strategist emphasized Democrats' "extreme and unpopular positions," including encouraging people to "ignore" judicial decisions with which they disagree.

"However, Republican candidates in difficult races must remain conscious that blanket abortion bans are no longer a 50/50 issue in polling, and they must express a brand of compassionate conservatism that doesn't alienate voters in the middle," the operative said.

Republican pollster Whit Ayers advised GOP lawmakers and candidates to avoid "the extremes" concerning abortion, contending "the vast majority" of the public believes abortion should be permitted in "some circumstances" but not others. He asserted that not acknowledging that is to be "in denial."

"More than half of Americans know someone who has had an abortion or has had one themselves," he said. "So when you use very harsh language, calling people who have abortions 'murderers,' you're talking about people known to half of America, and that is politically toxic."

When asked whether abortion will motivate people to vote next November, Ayers replied he is "convinced" that "our grandchildren" will still be arguing about the topic because it is an emotional subject and there is no one answer that will satisfy everybody.

"The best we can do is try to reach some sort of consensus around an alternative position," he added.

As long as the debate is about abortion limits and not its legality, anti-abortion Republicans can "hold their own," according to Claremont McKenna College politics professor John Pitney.

"But after Dobbs, people worry that Republicans will go too far," he said. "Republican lawmakers need to be cautious in what they propose and how they talk about the issue. Unfortunately for them, the most extreme voices will get the most attention."

But for Heritage Action Executive Director Jessica Anderson, Republican lawmakers and candidates should point out Democratic "extremism," such as "abortion on demand" to "the final moment before birth" and "not providing lifesaving care" after a botched procedure.

"In situations where you had Republican candidates that were much more clear about supporting life and having reasonable exceptions, which is where the majority of Americans are, by the way — poll after poll shows that — then you saw electoral success," Anderson said. "It's really where you had Republicans that just refused to talk about the issue, they didn't engage, or they weren't clear and they were wishy-washy, that they lost — or they couldn't make a compelling argument to show the extremism [of Democrats]."

"The question now becomes 'Well, what's next?'" she went on. "Does this go to the Supreme Court and then become another iterative of this fight over how to protect life? Does the Biden administration weigh in a different route other than the FDA through an executive order?"

Another Republican strategist agreed the GOP should "be on offense" related to abortion.

"Be clear in your position, then call out the Left for being out of step with the American people," the operative said.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has repeated the White House is trying to avoid getting "ahead of the courts" amid Kacsmaryk's decision to issue a nationwide injunction despite mifepristone being available for the last two decades after what has been described as a quick approval process, the Justice Department's application for a stay and appeal, as well as a separate federal judge ruling that prevents the FDA from pulling mifepristone from the market.

"We are ready to prevail in the courts," Jean-Pierre told reporters on Air Force One en route to the United Kingdom and Ireland. "There's a process that we're going through that we're going to make sure that we win this, we win this on behalf of women across the country."

A day earlier, Jean-Pierre deflected questions about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who last weekend put forward that Kacsmaryk's decision be ignored. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) amplified Ocasio-Cortez's position, telling CNN this week, "This thing should just be thrown out, quite frankly.”

"Look, we are going to always follow the law. Always," Jean-Pierre said. "But doesn't mean that we're not going to fight."

House Democrats introduce legislation to nullify Texas abortion pill ruling

Samantha-Jo Roth

April 10, 10:59 AM April 10, 11:00 AM

House Democrats plan to introduce legislation in response to last week’s federal court ruling in Texas on abortion pills, clarifying the Food and Drug Administration can make a final decision when it comes to approving the drugs used in a medical abortion.

A federal judge in Texas issued a ruling Friday, suspending the FDA’s two-decade-old approval of the medical abortion drug mifepristone. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s decision is set to go into effect Friday, and the Biden administration has already appealed it.

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Reps. Pat Ryan (D-NY) and Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX) plan to introduce a bill that would emphasize the FDA will have the final say when it comes to medication abortion over any state law, according to reporting from Axios.

“The legislation will reaffirm the FDA’s approval authority and protect doctors who use telemedicine to prescribe medication abortion,” Ryan said in a statement.

The legislation would largely be symbolic, as it faces an uphill road in the Republican-controlled House. The FDA approved mifepristone more than 20 years ago, and it is used with another drug, misoprostol, to end pregnancies up to 10 weeks. Over half of U.S. abortions are done medically, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.

While congressional Democrats quickly condemned the decision Friday, top Republicans have not commented. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), and Senate GOP Whip John Thune (R-SD) have remained silent on the ruling.

Walgreens says it does not plan to sell abortion pills in some states its legal

Abigail Adcox

March 03, 10:19 AM March 03, 10:19 AM

Walgreens announced it does not plan to dispense a major abortion medication in some states where the pills remain legal amid a shifting landscape after a number of state officials threatened legal action.

The company said that it does not plan to seek certification from the Food and Drug Administration to dispense mifepristone, the first of two abortion-inducing drugs used to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks, by mail or at their brick-and-mortar locations in several states where abortions and the abortion medication remain legal, including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, and Montana.

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Walgreens told Politico that it has since responded to all state officials that had sent the company letters. Over 20 Republican attorneys general had called on the company not to proceed with dispensing the abortion medication.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach had told the pharmaceutical chain not to seek providing the abortion medication in the state, claiming he would seek legal action against the company. Kobach said late last month that he had received confirmation from Walgreens that they would not be dispensing the abortion medication in Kansas.

“This is a significant victory for the pro-life cause and for women’s health,” Kobach said in a statement. “The dispensing of these pills without a supervising physician present would expose women to complications and potentially to coercion as well. I’m grateful Walgreens has responded quickly and reasonably and intends to fully comply with the law.”

In response to the decision not to sell the abortion medication in states where it is legal, a number of people have taken to Twitter to call for boycotting the company.

"American women will let [Walgreens] know exactly how we feel about their cowardice in the face of right wing threats. #BoycottWalgreens," one person tweeted.

A spokesperson for Walgreens had said the company was aware it would not be able to dispense abortion medication at all locations due to certain state laws surrounding the drug.

"We are not dispensing Mifepristone at this time. We intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program, however, we fully understand that we may not be able to dispense Mifepristone in all locations if we are certified under the program," the spokesperson said.

The FDA announced earlier this year that retail pharmacies could become certified to offer abortion medication to patients who have received a prescription from a qualified health provider. Previously, abortion medication had to be prescribed and dispensed by clinics, medical offices, hospitals, or under the supervision of a certified health provider.

CVS has also said it intends to go through the certification process to offer the abortion medication, though it has not clarified in which states it plans to sell the medication.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Walgreens for comment.