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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday in a case against mifepristone, one of two drugs used to induce medical abortions.
Mifepristone was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration decades ago and has been shown to be safe and effective. But anti-abortion advocates say the drug isn't safe and the FDA hasn't done enough research to approve it.
A lawsuit was filed Anti-abortion physicians and medical organizations They say the FDA broke the law in how it regulates mifepristone. If the decision of the 5th Criminal Court is upheld, it will end Availability of mifepristone for abortion via telehealthIt affects abortion even in states where it is legal.
with misoprostol; Mifepristone is one of the drugs used to induce abortion. Medicines as opposed to surgery.
Mifepristone is marketed under the brand names Mifeprex and Korlym, and is sometimes known as RU-486.
Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone, which helps the body maintain the lining of the uterus so that a pregnancy can continue. A healthy uterine lining supports a developing egg, embryo, and fetus.
Without progesterone, the uterus expels its contents.
A person having a medical abortion takes mifepristone and 24 to 48 hours later, misoprostol. This medicine helps to empty the uterus through heavy bleeding and muscle contractions.
The drugs can be taken when a person knows they are pregnant and on the first day of their last period up to 70 days or less.
This method is 99.6% effective in terminating pregnancy, studies show.
Hundreds of studies and 23 years of approved use data show that mifepristone is very safe and effective, the most respected medical associations in the country, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association, signed the amicus 12 brief in the Texas case.
This combination of abortion drugs is also available in more than 60 other countries.
In the year Since its approval in the US in 2000, there have been 5 deaths related to mifepristone for every 1 million people, according to the FDA. That means the death rate is 0.0005%.
Mifepristone's safety is equal to that of common pain relievers such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen, studies show.
Data analyzed by show that mifepristone is safer than some of the more common prescription drugs. Deaths from penicillin, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections such as pneumonia, are four times greater than mifepristone. The risk of dying after taking Viagra, used to treat erectile dysfunction, is 10 times higher.
Mifepristone usually does not have side effects, according to doctors, but as with any drug, it can be short-term.
Side effects of mifepristone can include dizziness, weakness, vomiting, headache, diarrhea, nausea, and fever or chills, according to the FDA.
Major adverse events, such as blood loss, hospitalization or serious infection, occur in less than 0.3% of patients, “very rarely,” according to the medical association's amicus brief.
The mifepristone-misoprostol combination is the most common abortion method in the US.
Data from Guttmacher InstituteAccording to research on sexual and reproductive health and a policy organization that supports abortion rights, the option has increased from less than 10 percent of abortions in the U.S. in 2001 to 53 percent in the two decades the option has been available. 63% by 2020 and 63% by 2023.
Regardless of mifepristone status, Misoprostol can still be found And it can be used for medical abortion itself.
The only FDA-approved use of misoprostol is for the prevention and treatment of gastric ulcers. But some doctors use it “off-label” on its own for abortion; It may also have other off-label obstetrical or gynecological services, such as labor induction.
Studies have shown that misoprostol alone is an effective and safe abortion, and according to a 2019 review of several studies, it is a “reasonable” option for people who want an abortion in the first trimester, but a two-drug method is considered more effective.
This review found that in all studies of people taking misoprostol alone, 78% had complete abortions, and more than 93% reported termination of pregnancy. At most, 0.2% of cases had serious complications requiring blood transfusions or hospitalization.
People who take misoprostol alone for an abortion usually have to take more for it to work, and side effects can be more severe, Dr. Melissa L. Wong, an obstetrician and gynecologist and partner with Physicians for Reproductive Health, told .
“Misoprostol still works well and is very safe,” Wong said. “Mifeprestone usually stops the pregnancy hormone, so it doesn't cause any side effects. With misoprostol, some people can tolerate it a little because of the side effects like nausea, vomiting, sometimes diarrhea or temporary fever. Those are still safe and expected side effects, but they're still uncomfortable for anyone.” they are.
's Devan Cole and Ariane de Vog contributed to this report.