Chuck Schumer calls the mifepristone ban "inconceivably cruel and radical"
Chuck SchumerSenate Minority Leader and United States Senator for New York, in a statement to MS NOW
In a statement to MS NOW, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer described Hawley's bill to revoke the FDA's approval of mifepristone as inconceivably cruel and radical.
“inconceivably cruel and radical”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should Congress ban the abortion pill, mifepristone, as Josh Hawley has proposed?
On March 11, 2026, Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act, which would withdraw the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone for pregnancy termination, make distributing and labeling the drug for that purpose violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and let women who say chemical abortion harmed them sue its manufacturers. Mifepristone has been approved in the United States since 2000 and is used in a large majority of American abortions. Hawley argues a national ban is the only remedy because the drug can be mailed into states whose own laws restrict abortion. The bill drew seven Republican cosponsors but has not moved out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. On September 16, 2026, Hawley unveiled a four-page "Declaration for Life" and began asking officeholders and candidates to sign it as a commitment to ban the drug. The dispute is over whether Congress should enact that ban.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Source for Bill Cassidy's response as chairman of the committee holding the bill, John Cornyn's "All in" post on X, Chuck Schumer's reaction, and Alexis McGill Johnson's statement. Also records that spokespeople for Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski did not respond to questions about the bill, and that the two were the only Republican senators who declined to sign a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services calling for a mifepristone crackdown.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The bill had been introduced two days earlier and would need Democratic votes to advance in the Senate, which Axios reported it would not get.
After the quotation
MS NOW reported the same week that anti-abortion groups were pressing Republican leadership to take the bill up regardless of its prospects.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Schumer's words are directed at that bill and reject it in the strongest terms. The closest competing label is minimizes, in the sense that dismissing a proposal as radical can work to place it outside serious debate rather than to argue against it. That loses because the characterisation is plainly condemnatory rather than a downplaying of anyone's concern, and it is addressed squarely at the legislation under scrutiny.
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- Josh Hawley
More from this case
Read the full caseGenBioPro declines to comment on Hawley's bill to ban mifepristone
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“At this time, the company prefers not to comment.”Read statement
Hawley urges FDA action on abortion-drug availability
“We've got to make sure that she is committed to ending the abortion drugs' availability in the state of Missouri and every other state. That they're going to put back in place the safety restrictions and they're going to follow the law.”Read statement
Tony Perkins says the Republican Party has "lost its voice" on abortion and credits Hawley with filling the vacuum
“Unfortunately the Republican Party has lost its voice on the life issue and in that vacuum there are leaders that are stepping forward like Sen. Hawley calling upon the church, communities and the country to step up on behalf of the unborn.”Read statement
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- Chuck Schumer calls the mifepristone ban "inconceivably cruel and radical"
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The Dispute Index. "Chuck Schumer calls the mifepristone ban "inconceivably cruel and radical"". First published: 2026-09-18. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1034-in-a-statement-to-ms-now-senate-minority