5 numbers that explain mifepristone in the US
Legal access to the drug mifepristone is in question after competing federal court rulings were handed down April 7. Here’s what you should know:
One of two drugs used in medication abortions, mifepristone was authorized by the FDA in 2000 and is now approved for safely ending a pregnancy in the US up to 10 weeks of gestation, though the World Health Organization extends that up to 12 weeks.
Mifepristone is used in 53 percent of US abortions, and has been studied for safety and effectiveness for more than 20 years; in 2019, the FDA approved a generic version.
As of June 2022, about 5.6 million women in the US had used the medication to end a pregnancy. Of those, the FDA reported 28 deaths from any cause, which represents 0.0005 percent of people who took mifepristone.
April 13, 2023 Ian Millhiser
The Fifth Circuit’s Chaotic New Mifepristone Decision, Explained
Republican judges claim the power to second-guess the FDA’s scientific judgments.
Vox.com