Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: Sen. Daines asks RFK Jr. about repealing access to abortion drugs by mail
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September 4, 2025
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5:06Now PlayingSen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about restricting access to abortion drugs during a hearing Thursday about President Donald Trump’s health care agenda.
“Given that we're repealing these COVID-era regulations and emergency measures, would you repeal the COVID-era telemedicine allowance for chemical abortion drugs and restore the requirement for an in-person doctor visit?" Daines asked.
During the Biden administration, the Food and Drug Administration allowed for the remote prescription of abortion drugs such as mifepristone due to the COVID pandemic. Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade, lawmakers in states that have restricted abortion have objected to the availability of abortion medication by mail.
Kennedy said he did not know whether the FDA would take action against telemedicine prescriptions for abortion drugs.
“I need to get back to you on that. I don't know if the White House has yet taken a position on that,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance a day after more than 20 medical societies and organizations called for his resignation. They cited “repeated efforts to undermine science and public health,” most recently the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez over vaccine science and the resulting resignations of other leaders at the organization.
During his tenure, the health secretary and former anti-vaccine advocate has narrowed long-standing U.S. vaccine recommendations. He’s also replaced a key panel of medical experts with his hand-picked candidates ahead of the start of the respiratory virus season in the United States.
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