Explainer: Current Updates on Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone & Safety Concerns
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 with their ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, abortion access has become more restrictive across the country.
In Texas, a district judge ruled that the FDA “improperly approved the abortion pill mifepristone more than 20 years ago.” On the same day, a district judge in Washington state ruled that seventeen states and the District of Columbia will continue to have access to mifepristone, preventing the FDA from “altering the status quo.” Both rulings inadvertently questioned the FDA’s authority to approve mifepristone, which could create harmful long-term implications.
Mifepristone is a safe and evidence-based drug, and when combined with another drug - misoprostol - it can be used to terminate a pregnancy. The FDA first approved it in September 2000. When it first approved, the drug could only be used up to seven weeks after the beginning of a pregnancy, which was later extended to ten weeks. Mifepristone successfully ends pregnancies in 95% of all cases, with expected side effects. Additionally, there were very few cases where patients experienced extreme side effects. The death rates from mifepristone are lower than Tylenol, penicillin or even Viagra. According to Danco Laboratories, which manufactures the drug, only 878 women out of the first 2.5 million to take the drug were hospitalized in the first 15 years the drug was on the market.
The Supreme Court protected access to this drug on April 21st of this year when they ruled to freeze lower court rulings’ that placed restrictions on mifepristone’s usage. This means that currently, there is no ban on the drug, but this could change in the future as appeals play out in the Fifth Circuit Court, which heard oral arguments on May 17th. The Fifth Circuit Court’s decision could affect the availability of mifepristone in the future.
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References and Further Reading:
Oyez. Roe v. Wade. N.d.
Oyez. Dobbs v. Jackson. N.d.
Sarah McCammon. NPR. Judges' dueling decisions put access to a key abortion drug in jeopardy nationwide. 8 April 2023.
Tierney Sneed. CNN. Rival rulings on medication abortion hypercharge the post-Roe legal war. 8 April 2023.
FDA. Questions and Answers on Mifepristone for Medical Termination of Pregnancy Through Ten Weeks Gestation 24 January 2023.
Keren Landman. Vox. Mifepristone is safe. 11 April 2023.
Ariana De Vogue and Tierney Sneed. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/21/politics/supreme-court-abortion-pill-mifepristone/index.html Supreme Court protects access to abortion pill. 21 April 2023.
Poppy Noor. The Guardian. Abortion pill case: where does the lawsuit against the pill currently stand? 17 May 2023.
Tierney Sneed. CNN. Takeaways from the 5th Circuit arguments over abortion drug access/ 17 May 2023.
Tom Hals. Reuters. US abortion pill access could hinge on whether doctors had right to sue. 29 June 2023.
