National Consumers League applauds FDA’s decision increasing access to Mifepristone (the “abortion pill”)
January 5, 2023
Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, 202-823-8442
Washington, D.C. – The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s decision this week to lift a major barrier blocking access to medication abortion care marks an important step forward for women. Mifepristone is a drug that blocks the hormone needed for a pregnancy to continue. Mifepristone, when used together with another medicine called misoprostol, is used to end a pregnancy through ten weeks gestation. And it is safe.
The FDA posted the following on its website: “Mifepristone is safe when used as indicated and directed and consistent with the Mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Program. The FDA approved Mifeprex more than 20 years ago based on a thorough and comprehensive review of the scientific evidence presented and determined that it was safe and effective for its indicated use. As of 2016, it can be used for medical termination of pregnancy up to 70 days of gestation. The FDA’s periodic reviews of the postmarketing data for Mifeprex and its approved generic have not identified any new safety concerns with the use of mifepristone for medical termination of pregnancy through 70 days gestation. As with all drugs, the FDA continues to closely monitor the postmarketing safety data on mifepristone for the medical termination of pregnancy.”
NCL urges continuous attention on this issue. While FDA moved things forward by expanding access, too many people remain without care options because they live in states that ban telehealth for medication abortion or have banned abortion outright.
FDA’s lifting of the in-person dispensing requirement and establishing a new program to certify both brick-and-mortar and mail-order pharmacies to dispense mifepristone is a turning point for so many, especially young women and women in abusive relationships who may not have the privacy to receive medication by mail.
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About the National Consumers League (NCL)
The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.
