LANSING, Mi.(WOWO) — Michigan’s Republican members of Congress are urging the Trump administration to reinstate federal rules that require abortion-inducing medication to be dispensed only in person.
In a letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., lawmakers asked the FDA to reverse a 2023 policy that allowed mifepristone to be prescribed through telehealth and delivered by mail. The group argued that in-person requirements are necessary for safety and cited a conservative think tank’s April 2025 report alleging higher rates of adverse events.
The request comes as the FDA continues a review of the drug, which is part of a two-step regimen with misoprostol. Mifepristone was originally approved more than 20 years ago following what the agency describes as a comprehensive evaluation of scientific evidence. FDA guidance and research continue to indicate that complications are rare when the medication is used in the first trimester.
Abortion remains legal in Michigan under a 2022 constitutional amendment, but limiting mailed prescriptions could affect residents in rural parts of the state. Planned Parenthood of Michigan closed three clinics earlier this year, leaving the Upper Peninsula without in-person abortion services.
The letter was signed by 175 House Republicans, including Michigan’s seven GOP representatives: Tom Barrett, Jack Bergman, Bill Huizenga, Lisa McClain, John Moolenaar, Tim Walberg, and John James.
Reproductive-rights organizations criticized the request. Experts at the Guttmacher Institute said the study cited in the lawmakers’ letter is politically motivated. Planned Parenthood of Michigan said medication abortion remains safe, including when prescribed via telehealth, and argued that ending mail access would increase travel burdens and reduce availability for many patients.
Medication-based abortions accounted for more than half of all abortions in Michigan in 2021, according to state health department data. A 2023 Supreme Court case seeking to restrict mifepristone’s availability was dismissed after justices ruled the plaintiffs lacked standing.
Michigan’s constitutional protections for abortion continue to govern state policy, and courts have since invalidated earlier requirements, including a 24-hour waiting period.
