Poll: Lack of federal action on abortion pill hurts Republican enthusiasm for midterms

A poll released Feb. 19 shows that the Republican base could be less enthusiastic about the November midterm elections if President Donald Trump’s administration appears weak on pro-life policies, such as regulations for the abortion pill mifepristone.

The poll of 1,000 Republican primary voters nationwide found that nearly one-third said their enthusiasm to vote for the party’s candidates in the general election would be dramatically or somewhat decreased if the focus on pro-life issues is weakened or abandoned.

It also found that more than 70% of the Republican voters oppose the federal policy of allowing the abortion drug mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail and worry that the policy undermines laws in pro-life states. They also strongly oppose federal tax funding for abortion.

The poll was conducted by the Republican pollster Cygnal and was commissioned by Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.76%.

“We have been warning the [Republican Party] and the administration for months,” SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a virtual news conference on Feb. 19.

“The failure to rein in abortion drugs risks [losing] base enthusiasm this November,” she said.

In 2023, former President Joe Biden’s administration removed prior rules that required in-person dispensing of the drug and an in-person doctor’s visit for a prescription. This allowed the drug to be dispensed through the mail and for all evaluations to be done virtually via telehealth.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced in May 2025 that the administration would review those changes. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began a review in September 2025, but as of February, no action has been taken to further regulate the drug.

Rather, the FDA approved a generic version of the drug in September — the same month the review was launched. Bloomberg News reported the review was being delayed for political reasons, but HHS denied those allegations.

When asked for comment about the poll and about when the review could be completed, HHS Press Secretary Emily G. Hilliard referred EWTN News to a Feb. 2 FAQ on the FDA’s website that states the review is still ongoing, the FDA plans to complete it “as soon as possible,” and these types of studies “often take approximately a year or more” but the FDA plans “to have this study done sooner than that time frame.”

Dannenfelser, unsatisfied with the lack of action to date, blamed “a lack of leadership at HHS” from Kennedy, who she said could “easily” change the regulations immediately. She called the continuation of the Biden-era regulations “an electoral problem in addition to a moral problem.”

“The problem is only going to get worse, so now is the moment to make it better,” she said.

What the poll numbers say

Cygnal Senior Partner John Rogers said in the news conference that the polling data shows Republican primary voters “are committed to pro-life principles” and that Kennedy’s policies toward mifepristone so far are “at odds with the base of the Republican Party.”

According to the poll, 70.8% of Republican primary voters oppose continuing the Biden-era deregulation of mifepristone, just 18.8% want them to stay in place, and 10.4% are unsure.

The poll found that 73.5% said the mail delivery of mifepristone undermines pro-life states and just 7.8% said it strengthens them, with 18.7% unsure. It found that 77.5% believe that the FDA should require an in-person doctor’s visit before a person can be prescribed mifepristone, just 14.5% oppose that requirement, and 8% are unsure.

Nearly 80% said they support the continuation of a ban on federal tax funding for abortion, with almost half calling the policy “extremely important” and another 18% calling it “very important.”

According to the poll, 31.7% of Republican primary voters said they will be less enthusiastic for the midterms if Republicans abandon or weaken their pro-life stance. Nearly 43% said it would not change their enthusiasm, 13.6% said it would increase their enthusiasm, and 12.1% said they are unsure.

Nearly 34% said they would be less likely to volunteer or campaign for Republicans if they are weak on pro-life issues or abandon them, nearly 46% said it would not change their likelihood of volunteering or campaigning, and 7.6% said it would increase their likelihood.