by I. Edwards
Attorneys common from 4 states are asking the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) to carry restrictions on mifepristone, a tablet utilized in treatment abortions.
The request got here Thursday from high officers in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
“Given mifepristone’s 25-year safety record, there is simply no scientific or medical reason to subject it to such extraordinary restrictions,” New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James mentioned.
Mifepristone is certainly one of two drugs utilized in a drugs abortion and is commonly focused in authorized battles over abortion rights.
As a part of REMS, solely licensed well being care suppliers can prescribe mifepristone, and authorized pharmacies should fill the prescription. Sufferers should additionally signal a type confirming they’re selecting to finish their being pregnant.
The attorneys common say these guidelines are burdensome and deter many household docs from providing the treatment. In addition they say docs fear about being added to native and nationwide lists of abortion suppliers.
Research present mifepristone could be very secure. Fewer than 0.5% of people that take it have severe negative effects, in line with analysis. It’s also simply as secure and efficient when prescribed through telehealth and despatched by mail.
The states’ petition comes because the FDA plans to evaluate the protection of mifepristone. That evaluate was requested by U.S. Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
Their issues are primarily based on a report that claimed to indicate excessive charges of great negative effects. However many specialists say the research, which was not peer-reviewed, is junk science. It was launched by a conservative group linked to Mission 2025, which desires to overturn FDA approval of the drug.
Researchers who research reproductive well being say the report doesn’t meet primary analysis requirements, makes use of unclear definitions and fails to determine the database studied.
Through the years, the FDA has eliminated some restrictions on mifepristone.
In 2016, it prolonged its use from seven to 10 weeks into being pregnant. In 2019, it accredited a generic model of the treatment. And in 2021, it allowed the tablet to be prescribed through telehealth as a substitute of requiring in-person visits.
In 2022, a bunch of anti-abortion organizations sued the FDA to take mifepristone off the market. They used two research from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, an anti-abortion group.
The U.S. Supreme Courtroom later threw out the case, and the research have been retracted by a medical writer.
Final month, the Charlotte Lozier Institute launched one other report claiming emergency room visits after abortions are being mislabeled as miscarriages. Specialists say the information is flawed.
“The anti-choice people are really going after medication abortion,” mentioned Rachel Jones, a scientist on the Guttmacher Institute, a bunch that helps abortion entry.
“[They are] doing whatever they can to get the FDA under the Trump administration to revisit the availability of the drug,” she added.
Extra info:
The Cleveland Clinic has extra about treatment abortion.
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4 states ask FDA to carry guidelines on abortion tablet mifepristone (2025, June 6)
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