Savannah Hulsey Pointer, FISM News
National pro-life leaders are calling on Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) to stand against the Biden administration’s nominee of Dr. Robert Califf for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner.
The Susan B. Anthony List, which is a network of almost a million pro-life Americans nationwide working to end abortion through the election of pro-life leaders, put out a press release on Thursday saying that Califf is “a top abortion industry ally” and should not be supported by pro-life Republicans.
Califf’s performance in this position is not something hypothetical, as he held the same position during the Obama administration. This time around, Romney voted for the pro-abortion nominee in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) committee earlier this month, something pro-lifers found to be in violation of his supposed values as a pro-life Republican.
“Just days ago, Senator Romney appeared virtually at the national March for Life to support the sea of Americans gathered to represent the millions of voiceless unborn children killed and women wounded by abortion in our nation. Senator Romney’s tribute to the pro-life cause is vastly out of sync with the course he is on to back a top abortion industry ally, Robert Califf, for FDA commissioner,” said Hon. Marilyn Musgrave, SBA List’s vice president of government affairs.
This after pro-life Republican senators, including Romney, were all sent a coalition letter from almost 50 pro-life groups outlining why they should oppose the nominee if they wanted to continue to be pro-life in practice as well as in political rhetoric.
In addition to the moral and ethical concerns of Romney’s position, from a purely political standpoint the Republican could be in big trouble if he doesn’t back away from his leftist colleagues in the area of abortion.
“Robert Califf has a record of putting the abortion lobby’s extreme agenda ahead of women’s safety and the lives of unborn children,” added Mary Taylor, president of Pro-life Utah. “There is no doubt he would fast-track approval to distribute dangerous chemical abortion drugs to mothers by mail – at great risk to their health and safety and at the expense of their unborn children. This is unacceptable, and we urge Sen. Romney to reconsider his support for his nomination.”
Last year the Biden administration promised to weaken the federal regulations of mail-order abortion drugs, and just weeks ago the FDA began to permanently allow abortion pills to be distributed by mail, according to The New York Times, a decision that the publication noted will “broaden access to medication abortion, an increasingly common method,” going on to state that “many conservative states are already mobilizing against it.”
“If Senator Romney wants to truly represent the people of our pro-life state, then he should oppose Robert Califf’s nomination to the FDA,” said Gayle Ruzicka, president of Utah Eagle Forum.
“Chemical abortions are lethal to the unborn child and dangerous to his or her mother. A recent study found a 500% increase in the rate of abortion drug-related emergency room visits since the early 2000s, shortly after they were first approved. Women in Utah and across the nation deserve protection, not exploitation from the abortion lobby and the FDA. Senator Romney should champion women’s health and oppose Califf’s nomination.”
Currently, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas have state-level safeguards against mail-order abortion drugs and several more states are considering legislation for the same purpose to be introduced during the 2022 session, according to the SBA List.
Romney was one of four Republicans who voted to advance Califf past the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, according to The Federalist. Others included Sens. Richard Burr of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.