WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Indian American obstetrician and gynaecologist pushed back against what she described as a politicized framing of abortion during a contentious Senate hearing, urging lawmakers to focus on medical science and patient safety rather than ideological disputes.
Testifying before the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions Committee, Dr Nisha Verma said abortion medication has been extensively studied and safely used for decades, warning that politically driven restrictions are causing real harm to patients.
“Medication abortion has been rigorously studied and proven safe and effective in over 100 high-quality peer-reviewed studies,” Verma told lawmakers, adding that more than 7.5 million people in the United States have used the drugs since their approval in 2000.
Verma, who practices in Massachusetts and Georgia, said she provides what she described as “full spectrum care,” including contraception, miscarriage management and abortion. While acknowledging that abortion care can be complex, she cautioned against using that complexity to misstate facts or undermine evidence-based medicine.
“A lot of the cases that we’re hearing about are a direct result of abortion bans and restrictions,” she said. “Access makes people safer.”
The hearing grew tense when Republican Senator Josh Hawley interrupted Verma to ask, “Can men get pregnant?”
“I’m not really sure what the goal of the question is,” Verma replied.
Hawley said he was attempting to establish what he called a “biological reality,” but Verma declined to engage further and returned to discussing medical evidence and standards of care.
Earlier in the hearing, committee chairman Sen. Bill Cassidy questioned Verma about prescribing practices and gestational limits. Verma said she does not prescribe abortion medication outside accepted medical guidelines, stressing that treatment decisions depend on clinical judgment and individual circumstances.
Asked who should make decisions about abortion, Verma said patients should be guided by doctors, families and science. “People should be able to make decisions for themselves guided by their doctor, you know, supported by their families, guided by evidence and science,” she said.
She also addressed concerns raised by some witnesses about coercion and criminal misuse of abortion pills, including cases in which men allegedly attempted to administer medication without consent. Verma said such actions are criminal and should be treated as such, but warned against using them to justify further restrictions on legitimate care.
“Restricting care further is not a real solution. It is a distraction,” she said.
Verma urged lawmakers to focus on ensuring access to evidence-based care within local communities. “We stop this by making sure that people can get the care they need in their communities and are able to get support when they need it,” she said.
The hearing, titled ‘Protecting Women: Exposing the Dangers of Chemical Abortion Drugs,’ was convened by Republicans seeking tighter federal controls on mifepristone, while Democrats argued the effort was aimed at limiting abortion access nationwide.
Mifepristone, used in combination with misoprostol, has been approved for more than two decades and is also used in miscarriage care, a point highlighted during the hearing as evidence of its established medical role. (Source: IANS)
