As U.S. courts weigh in on mifepristone, here’s the abortion pill’s safety record
A widely used abortion medicine is in legal jeopardy, despite decades of data supporting its use. The medicine, called mifepristone, is part of two-drug regimen that can end a pregnancy, and was used in more than half of abortions in the United States in 2020. Late last year, a group of antiabortion doctors and others sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, challenging mifepristone’s initial approval in 2000 and the changes the agency later made to broaden access to the drug. In the lawsuit, they claim that the drug isn’t safe, that the FDA improperly approved it and failed to follow the science, and that mifepristone is illegal to send in the mail. The U.S. District Court judge that first heard the case sided with the group. Now, the case is being reviewed by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans; on May 17, the Fifth Circuit heard oral...