Several Republican members of Congress are calling on the Trump administration to end policies that allow abortion drugs to be mailed across state lines.

Under President Joe Biden, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) loosened restrictions on obtaining those drugs, including allowing women to bypass in-person visits with doctors.

While speaking from Capitol Hill on Jan. 14, multiple Republicans joined the conservative Family Research Council in pushing for a reversal of that deregulation.

“The time is now,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said.

He was joined by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, and other Republican members of Congress.

Graham argued the policies “undercut the state’s rights” to decide the legality of abortion within their borders.

The press conference came amid a broader debate over the future of abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which limited states’ ability to restrict the procedure.

The Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health instead granted states more flexibility in regulating abortion.

“The time for bureaucratic delay is over,“ Perkins said. ”It’s time to respect the rights of states to protect the unborn.”

Drugs that cause chemical abortions, such as mifepristone, were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the early 2000s.

However, in 2011, the agency added a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, to mifepristone to ensure that the drug was given during an in-person visit with a medical provider certified to assess risk.

In December 2021, the FDA amended that policy, removing the in-person requirement.

That change was expanded in January 2023, allowing any pharmacy to dispense the drug in-person or through the mail, where states allow it.

Hawley sent a letter to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary in December after reports surfaced that the agency had delayed review of safety data on the abortion drug mifepristone.

“This is totally unacceptable,” Hawley said. “I cannot emphasize enough the danger of playing politics with women’s health.”

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrell stated during the press conference that the changes being requested were due to concerns about “invalidating [Dobbs], and preventing other states from nullifying the legislative policy choices that have been made by our states and facilitating the illegal, unethical, and dangerous drug trafficking of abortion pills into our states without any medical oversight whatsoever.

“Anybody can get these pills on the internet,” she added. “They don’t check. There’s no verification, and there’s no human contact. I don’t know of any state where that is ethical medical conduct, and it’s illegal in many of our states.”

Cassidy, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, held a hearing the same day, in an effort to expose the “dangers of chemical abortion drugs.”

During the hearing, Cassidy, a medical doctor who practiced before his work in the Senate, reminded his colleagues that the first duty was to “do no harm.”

“As a doctor and a strong pro-life conservative, I am committed to protecting mothers and the unborn,” Cassidy said ahead of the hearing.

“The medical evidence is clear: chemical abortion drugs not only kill innocent babies, but also put women in serious danger. ... I look forward to discussing how to uphold a culture of life and prioritize women‘s safety over political ideology.”

Murrell testified before the committee, naming Mifepristone and Misoprostol as drugs that have led to medical complications for women—particularly if they receive them without personal contact with a physician.

Dr. Nisha Verma, a witness called by Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), disputed Murrell’s claims, saying there is scientific evidence that the pills are safe and effective.

“Knowing that mifepristone and misoprostol are safe and effective for miscarriage management, I took these medications myself a few months ago after my husband and I experienced a devastating pregnancy loss,” Verma said.

When questioned closely by Cassidy, Verma confirmed that she would not prescribe the drugs to a woman who was 20 weeks pregnant. Cassidy said that without contact with a qualified healthcare professional, there is no way of knowing the woman’s exact point in gestation.

Murrell said that despite an almost total abortion ban in her state, abortion pills arrived within its borders due to FDA regulations.

Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.