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Mifepristone, an abortion pill, also known as RU 486. (Photo by James Leynse/Corbis via Getty ... [+] Images)

Since last months leak of Justice Alitos draft majority opinion, which says that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, the abortion wars have dominated the U.S. domestic news cycle.

Removing abortion as a constitutional right would, in Alitos words, return the issue of abortion to the peoples elected representatives. While this could mean Congress, its clear from a recent attempt to codify Roe v. Wade, the Democrats lack the votes to succeed. And so, it will be up to states to determine who has access to abortion services, and under which conditions.

Most of the discussion has focused on in-hospital or in-clinic abortion procedures. But, some Republican-led states may ban the abortion pill, even though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved it.

In 2000, the FDA approved Mifeprex (mifepristone) for medication abortion. Mifepristone is a drug that blocks progesterone, which is needed for a pregnancy to continue. When used in conjunction with misoprostol, mifepristone ends early pregnancies (up to 10 weeks following conception).

Mifepristone has been in use in Europe for nearly three decades with a minimal number of adverse events. And, the drug has had a similar safety record in the U.S since its approval in 2000. Between September 2000 and December 2018, just 24 of the 3.7 million women who had undergone medicated abortions have died.

Medication abortion accounts for about 42% of all abortions in the U.S. Notably, since 2000 a steady decline in abortions of all kinds has coincided with the availability of mifepristone.

While until now no state has banned medication abortions, Oklahomas Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, will soon sign legislation outlawing all abortions from the moment of fertilization. Presumably, this would include a prohibition of the use of mifepristone and misoprostol. Other states may follow suit.

But, its unclear whether states can prohibit the use of a medication the FDA has approved. The FDAs mandate is to review the safety and efficacy of therapeutics, diagnostics, and devices, based on clinical evidence. As such, the FDA is the federal authority on all pharmaceuticals distributed throughout the U.S., including mifepristone and misoprostol. On this basis, FDA approval of a drug would appear to preempt state action.

Furthermore, in December 2021 the FDA lifted a major restriction on access to abortion pills. It now allows patients to receive such pills by mail, rather than requiring women to obtain the medications in person from specially certified healthcare providers.

Some Republican-led states may, however, argue that they can ban abortion drugs because they have the authority to regulate the practice of medicine. Indeed, 19 states have already prohibited telemedicine visits for abortifacients. By claiming there are medical risks with abortion drugs governors and legislators who are opposed to abortion pills maintain the state as having a compelling interest in regulating them. Its uncertain how this will impact women being able to obtain out-of-state medications by mail.

The most obvious retort to this is, why dont states bother to regulate most other pharmaceuticals, as they all carry risk, including many with a far greater likelihood of adverse events than mifepristone?

And, the current line of reasoning echoes previous disingenuous appeals made in the autumn of 2020 by Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and 20 other Republican senators. They sent a letter to the FDA formally requesting that the agency remove Mifeprex from the market. The 21 senators claimed Mifeprex is deadly and an imminent hazard to the public health. Cruz tweeted Make no mistake, Mifeprex is a dangerous pill.

Once again, this begs the question, what is the relative safety risk for women associated with the use of mifepristone? As referenced above, the safety risk appears to be minimal. Here, Cruz and others resort to a red herring to deflect attention from their main concern; abortions of any kind and at any time during a pregnancy.

Rhetoric notwithstanding, the Senators letter wasnt in fact an appeal to the FDA based on clinical evidence regarding Mifeprexs safety. Rather, the letter objects to the use of Mifeprex because of what the senators view as an opportunistic ploy to expand access to abortion.

In the wake of the leaked draft decision by the Supreme Court on Roe v. Wade, the battle lines on abortion have hardened. As a result - and is invariably the case in a polarized U.S. - politics gets in the way of there ever being a shared common ground on which people with different perspectives on abortion could have factual discussions about Mifeprexs good relative risk profile and whether Mifeprexs availability is associated with more abortions. Regarding the latter, evidently this is not the case, as abortions of all kinds have been steadily decreasing for decades.

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Next Up In The Abortion Wars: Some Republican-Led States May Restrict Or Even Ban Access To Mifeprex, Used To End Early Pregnancy - Forbes

The NRAs national convention began in Houston only days after a mass shooting at a Texas school, creating an uncomfortable juxtaposition that led some speakers to withdraw. Others, including former President Donald Trump, went ahead with their plans to speak.

McCrory blamed institutional breakdown from the federal to local level for not preventing horrific events such as the Tuesday shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and said gun violence was a cultural problem.

McCrory, who lost a GOP primary for one of North Carolinas Senate seats earlier this month to Rep. Ted Budd, said the culture of gun ownership and the symbolism of guns was a manifestation of Americans distrust with the criminal justice system and the sentiment that Im going to take this into my own hands.

I was the mayor [of Charlotte] for 14 years and I had reduced the murder rate by over 50 percent due to some tough law enforcement, and some mentoring, and other programs, he said. I lost the primary two weeks ago to a congressman who had a gun in his front trousers in a commercial.

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North Carolina Republican: NRA has been pushed to the right - POLITICO

WATERLOO, Iowa (KWWL)- In the wake of mass shootings at a hospital in Tulsa, a supermarket in Buffalo, and an elementary school in Uvalde, lawmakers are under growing pressure to take action.

House Democrats are pushing legislation that, among other things, would raise the legal age to buy an assault weapon from 18 to 21 and make it a federal offense to sell or possess high-capacity magazines. A bipartisan group of Senators is working on a bill that includes boosting school security measures and expanding background checks.

There is also growing criticism of some of the Republican members of Congress over the amount of campaign contributions they have accepted from the National Rifle Association.

According to the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Senator Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, ranks sixth among all current senators in NRA contributions. As of 2019, the center said Ernst received $3,129,723 in her political career from the NRA. Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has accepted more than $225,000 in his career. Neither Grassley nor Ernst responded to a request for comment from KWWL on Thursday.

KWWL also searched for NRA contributions on the Federal Election Commissions website.

"Congresswoman Hinson supports the Second Amendment," Hinson Campaign Manager Sophie Crowell said in a written statement. "In Congress, she's focused on bolstering school safety, equipping law enforcement with resources and training, and delivering critical mental health resources to our communities to prevent gun violence."

None of the other members of Iowa's Republican Congressional delegation responded to KWWL's request for comment and questions about how much money they received from the NRA.

lth resources to our communities to prevent gun violence."

Megan Goldberg, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Cornell College, said there is not much research to support the idea that special interest groups can buy votes in Congress. Instead, the significant donations can buy meeting time with lawmakers.

"Interest groups donate to candidates who already support their policies, which buys them access later," she said. "It buys them energy and effort on the part of that member of Congress, but it doesn't always change that vote at the end."

Dr. Chris Larimer, a Professor of Political Science at theUniversity of Northern Iowa, Coordinator of UNI'sMaster in Public PolicyProgram and KWWL Political Analyst said the NRA does not spend as much on contributions to candidates as compared to other groups. However, the organization is still a powerful force in politics.

"It's not just isolated to one region of the country.," Larimer said. "They do have a lot of political force because they have large numbers, they are well financed and geographically dispersed across the country."

Goldberg said the reak power of the NRA is its ability to mobilize its base, for or against a candidate, particularly in a primary.

"The NRA is good at getting their members to turn out to vote," she said. "Primaries are low turnout elections, and they're low information, so the NRA can be powerful, especially in state primary elections when you're talking about state legislators."

The NRA does report cards for politicians, grading their past votes and willingness to adopt gun control measures. Goldberg said even without spending any money, the NRA still exerts pressure on Republican lawmakers. Many are fearful of what could happen if they go against the NRA.

"There's probably some fear of backlash among especially Republican candidates that a bad grade by the NRA could be used by an opponent later, even if the NRA isn't directly sort of spending any money there," Goldberg said.

Larimer said an A or A-Plus grade from the NRA can influence a Republican primary. It can mean more for specific candidates depending on the districts they are running for.

"That's viewed as more credibility on what is considered Republican issues," he said.

Read the rest here:
Tracking the NRA's Contributions to Iowa's Republican members of Congress - kwwl.com

Retired Navy Capt. Hung Cao prevailed in Saturdays 11-way Republican nomination in Virginias 10th Congressional District.

As of Sunday afternoon, the district Republican committee had yet to post numerical results from the firehouse primary. The party posted that Cao won around 2 a.m.

Cao's campaign later stated he won by 18 percent in the crowded field.

Cao, who served in U.S. special operations for more than 25 years, is an immigrant from Vietnam who spent seven years in Africa before moving to the U.S. and joining the Navy.

Cao will be on the ballot with incumbent Democrat Jennifer Wexton this November. Politico rates the 10th District as "likely Democratic."

Last year, Virginians sent a clear message when they elected Governor Youngkin to lead our state in Richmond, and now, we are ready to send another message by electing a common-sense conservative outsider to represent this district in Washington, Cao said in a news release. The Biden-Wexton agenda has failed our district in more ways than one, and its time we hold them accountable for the record crime rates, out-of-control inflation, botched foreign policy, and indoctrination of our children in the classroom.

Eleven candidates were vying for the nomination. In addition to Cao, they were Loudoun County School Board member John Beatty, David Beckwith, Mike Clancy, Manassas City Councilor Theresa Coates Ellis, John Henley, Prince William County Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, Caleb Max, Jeff Mayhugh, Brandon Michon and Brooke Taylor.

In a statement Sunday, Lawson thanked her volunteers and supporters and endorsed Cao.

It is critical that we defeat Jennifer Wexton and her extreme agenda this fall, and I will be proud to support Hung in doing just that, she said.

Wexton was first elected to Congress in 2018. Before that, she served in the Virginia General Assembly.

Ive spent my career in public service working to improve the lives of the children and families in our community, and I am excited to continue sharing my record of bipartisan success delivering for my constituents throughout this reelection campaign," Wexton said in a statement Sunday.

In Rappahannock County, which joined the 10th district after redistricting, turnout was higher than party leaders anticipated.

As the polls were nearing closing on Saturday afternoon, Rappahannock County Republican Committee Chair Terry Dixon said close to 300 Republican voters cast their ballots in the canvass. He had only expected between 100 and 200 party members to show up.

Dixon attributed the higher than expected turnout to Republican resentment with rising inflation and interest rates, as well as newfound energy in the base over the increasing likelihood that the U.S. The Supreme Court may overturn Roe v. Wade and strip Americans of abortion rights. Republicans have the energy right now and theyre mad and thats what it takes, he said. You know, people gotta be angry and mad to get something done.

Campaign representatives for Cao, Beckwith, Beatty and Clancy were stationed outside the polling place, located at Rappahannock County Elementary School.

Campaign volunteer Ed Timperlake stands at the Hung Cao tent in Rappahannock County during the GOP's 10th District firehouse primary Saturday.

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Cao wins Republican nomination in 10th District | Headlines | insidenova.com - Inside NoVA

Opinion: Matt Salmon is the last remaining high-profile Republican in Arizona with any combination of guts, morals and common sense. Which voters used to think of as good things.

They are either cowards or comrades.

Its difficult to tell which is worse, and it includes every prominent Republican in Arizona … with the exception of gubernatorial candidate Matt Salmon.

Among elected members of the GOP, and those seeking nominations for the states highest offices, the only person publicly condemning Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers for her vile comments and her unhinged advocacy of false, specious conspiracies the only one saying she should resign from office is Salmon.

Sadly, he is apparently the last remaining high-profile Republican in Arizona with any combination of guts, morals and common sense.

That is a tragedy.

Every political party, team, social club or service organization occasionally includes someone that you absolutely do NOT want on your side. Someone whose moral compass has reversed its polarity, north pointing south, truth pointing to lies, civility pointing to cruelty, reality pointing to fantasy.

Like when Rogers called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a globalist puppet for Soros and the Clintons and claimed that half of the combat footage taken in the city of Kyiv was a video game.

Or when she suggested that people she proclaimed to be traitors should be publicly hanged. Or when she threatened to personally destroy the career of any Republican who partakes in the gaslighting of me.

Or when she called the white nationalists at the America First Political Action Conference in Florida patriots. And sang the praises and expressed love for the groupsracist, anti-Semitic leader, Nick Fuentes, who told attendees at the gathering, Now, theyre going and saying, Vladimir Putin is Adolf Hitler, as if that isnt a good thing.

It goes on.

Most recently, Rogers has been peddling the white nationalist replacement theory, which suggests that Democrats and elites are trying to flood the U.S. with brown and Black immigrants in order to secure political power. And she went so far as to suggest that the Buffalo shooting may have been a false flag event directed by the federal government.

What kind of people would what such a person in their political party?

Republicans, it seems.

Former TV news reader and Republican candidate for governor Kari Lake is thrilled to have Rogers endorsement. The two have a back and forth Twitter lovefest.

As when Lake tweeted:

Senator Wendy Rogers is a proven fighter whether it was 20 years in the Air Force or going against the woke political left and their media activists constantly trying to take her down. I cannot wait to fight alongside her for the America First agenda!

Likewise, GOP governor candidate Karrin Taylor Robson has bragged about helping Rogers get elected. She tweeted:

As Chairwoman of Arizonas Republican Legislative Victory Fund, I was proud to support @WendyRogersaz who overcame millions of dollars in attacks from the Left to win and help us protect our one-seat conservative majority!

Is truth an attack?Or is it, simply, truth?

Last week, on KTARs The Mike Broomhead Show, Matt Salmon said, I think that this conspiracy theory she (Rogers) has, that the federal government is behind the latest horrible attack, that it was a red flag issue, its completely bogus. And I reject that and I reject her, and I believe that she should step aside.

Salmon has spoken out about Rogers before.

He told Broomhead, The last time around when she said that anybody that disagreed with her, she was going to come after them and that that the people that she disagreed with should be hung on the gallows, I called on her to resign at that time. And thats the strongest thing that I can possibly say, and I reiterate that again now.

Without naming Lake or Robson he added, I think its sad that … one of them helped her (Rogers) get elected and is proud of that and says that all the time. The other one pals around with her all the time and takes her pictures with her and has endorsed her and has been endorsed by her.

Hes right. That is sad.

Sadder still is the reason Salmon is on an island in his condemnation of Rogers.

Its because all those other high-profile Republicans know that being honest, showing a little integrity and a little guts, will hurt youwith Arizonas Republican base.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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Read more here:
Why is Matt Salmon the only GOP governor candidate trashing Sen. Wendy Rogers? - The Arizona Republic