FDA Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas promises pro-life agenda, calls advocates

Diamantas was elevated after Commissioner Marty Makary resigned.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas called pro-life organizations to offer reassurance about his commitment to life after some people in the movement raised concerns.

“Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas is personally committed to delivering on President Trump’s pro-life and pro-family agenda at the FDA,” Andrew Nixon, deputy assistant secretary for media relations at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told EWTN News.

“Both he and other administration officials will continue regularly interacting with stakeholders in this community to inform FDA decision-making,” he said.

Diamantas is serving as acting commissioner after the May 12 resignation of Commissioner Marty Makary, who faced criticism from within the pro-life movement for failure to impose stricter regulations on the  abortion drug mifepristone.

Some pro-life leaders celebrated Makary’s departure but grew concerned about Diamantas because court records show him serving as legal counsel for a Planned Parenthood affiliate while working at the Baker Donelson law firm. The case was related to a property dispute.

Alex Bruesewitz, an adviser to President Donald Trump, dismissed the concern in a post on X, saying he was a junior associate assigned to the case but removed himself because of his pro-life beliefs.

Within the past two days, Diamantas has reached out to some pro-life advocates, including March for Life President Jennie Bradley Lichter. A spokesperson for Live Action confirmed he had scheduled a conversation with Live Action President Lila Rose as well.

“Within a few hours of being handed this big new job, he was getting on the phone with pro-life leaders and that in itself, I think, is a really encouraging sign of where his priorities are going to be,” Lichter told “EWTN Pro-Life Weekly” host Abigail Galván.

Lichter said she spoke with Diamantas about her concerns with mifepristone, specifically about “the lack of safety, the lack of guardrails, [and] its easy availability.”

Under Makary, the FDA launched a study to review the 2023 deregulation of mifepristone, but so far no action has been taken to increase restrictions. Rather, in that same month, the FDA approved a generic version of the drug.

Based on her conversation, Lichter said, “I think weʼre going to see real movement” on that study and “I think that the cause of life is going to have, you know, a real champion at the FDA” under Diamantas’ leadership.

“I feel really comfortable that he is bringing in strong pro-life commitments and a commitment to transparency and to moving with all deliberate speed to take a close look at mifepristone and then take decisive action based on what that study shows,” she said.

Mark Harrington, president of Created Equal, told EWTN News he had not received a call from Diamantas and expressed hesitations about his leadership of the FDA, saying his efforts “could just be viewed as nothing more than damage control.”

“Talk is cheap,” he said. “But personnel is policy, and the fact that Diamantas [reportedly] represented Planned Parenthood makes me skeptical that he will advocate for the full mifepristone safety study. We will trust but verify. Action needs to be taken now on the abortion drug.”