USA – Over-the-counter medication abortion? These researchers say it would be safe

Selena Simmons-Duffin
April 06, 2026

Imagine that you're pregnant, a few weeks in, and you decide you want an abortion. You walk into a retail pharmacy, and pick up a package on the shelf that says "medication abortion kit." You buy it and walk out, and end your early pregnancy at home.

"It's time that the general public understands that this could be a reality," says Dr. Daniel Grossman, part of the research team that published a study Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine exploring this issue.

Continued: https://www.kuow.org/stories/over-the-counter-medication-abortion-these-researchers-say-it-would-be-safe

06.04.2026

Research

abortion pills on the shelf

Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health

Bill Cassidy

Dr. Daniel Grossman

Dr. Sonya Borrero

Food and Drug Administration

Julie Maslowsky

mifepristone

over the counter abortion pills

United States

Health

Human Rights

Study: FDA Regulation of Abortion Drug Mifepristone from 2011 to 2023 Shaped by Evidence and Caution

Researchers reviewed hundreds of internal FDA documents obtained under FOIA

12-Jan-2026
by Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

An analysis of internal Food and Drug Administration documents by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that the agency generally followed cautious and evidence-based recommendations from staff scientists regulating the abortion drug mifepristone over a critical 12-year period.

The findings were published online January 12 in JAMA.

Continued: https://www.newswise.com/articles/study-fda-regulation-of-abortion-drug-mifepristone-from-2011-to-2023-shaped-by-evidence-and-caution/?ad2f=1&aid=841596

12.01.2026

Research

abortion pills are safe

Anna Levashkevich

Food and Drug Administration

G. Caleb Alexander

Joanne Rosen

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

US abortion pill access under fire: Lawsuits and regulatory battles to watch in 2026

By Daniel Wiessner
January 5, 2026

Since the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, nearly half of U.S. states have banned or severely restricted the procedure, driving a surge in medication abortion - now used in more than 60% of abortions nationwide.

That has fueled a new wave of legal battles, with Republican-led states and conservative groups pressing to curb access to the abortion drug mifepristone, while providers and Democratic-led states push to expand it. Here's a look at the key lawsuits and regulatory fights whose outcomes could impact access to the drug in the year ahead:

Continued: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-abortion-pill-access-under-fire-lawsuits-regulatory-battles-watch-2026-2026-01-05/

05.01.2026

Commentary

FDA

Food and Drug Administration

2025 Was a Year of Chaos for Reproductive Rights Under the Trump Administration

Project 2025 initiated a war on reproductive rights that could escalate into even higher gear in 2026.

By Lauren Rankin , Truthout
December 27, 2025

With a decidedly anti-choice Trump administration taking office at its start, 2025 was poised to be yet another brutal year for abortion rights. Advocates feared the imminent resurgence of the Comstock Act, an 1873 law that made it a criminal offense to share contraceptives, abortifacients, and information about either across state lines or through the mail.

As of now, the last month of this very difficult political year, that is yet to happen.

Continued: https://truthout.org/articles/2025-was-a-year-of-chaos-for-reproductive-rights-under-the-trump-administration/

USA – The Abortion Pill Is Safe. Scientists Fear an FDA Investigation Will Ignore Science

Some scientists are concerned that the Trump administration will use “junk science” when reviewing mifepristone’s safety record

October 30, 2025
By Liz Szabo

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will launch a review of the safety of the abortion pill, mifepristone. Health researchers say they’re concerned that the review will be politicized and based on flawed reports. More than 100 studies published over the past few decades have shown that the drug, which was approved by the FDA in 2000, is safe and effective at ending a pregnancy.

Given Kennedy’s history of misrepresenting scientific evidence about vaccines, autism and Tylenol, some scientists say they worry that the health secretary will base the FDA report on unreliable sources.

Continued: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fda-is-investigating-the-abortion-pill-mifepristone-despite-decades-of/

Celebrating mifepristone, a hero in modern abortion access, on its 25th anniversary in the U.S.

Though it faces new legal challenges, mifepristone may offer yet more

By Elisa Wells
Sept. 28, 2025

When the Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone, the abortion pill, on Sept. 28, 2000, none of us working on expanding access to reproductive health care could have imagined the future we find ourselves in 25 years later. From the fall of Roe in 2022 and the subsequent banning or restriction of abortion in 19 states, to South Carolina’s recent efforts to include some forms of birth control in its total abortion ban, access to the basic medical care and medications that allow us to control our reproductive destinies is hanging by a thread. In the midst of this reproductive health care apocalypse, mifepristone is proving itself to be a hero in the fight for abortion access.

Continued: https://www.statnews.com/2025/09/28/mifepristone-abortion-pill-fda-approval-25th-anniversary/

Mifepristone Has Been Proven Safe for 25 Years. It’s Under Attack Again.

Safeguarding mifepristone is not just about abortion care—it’s about defending the role of science in medicine itself.

9/26/2025
by Kiki Freedman, Ms. Magazine

Twenty-five years ago, the Food and Drug Administration made a decision that changed the course of reproductive health in America. By approving mifepristone (the first pill in the two-step medication abortion regimen), the agency gave people access to one of the safest, most effective and most studied medications in modern medicine.

Since then, more than 7.5 million Americans have relied on it to end pregnancies safely and with dignity. Its safety record is stronger than many drugs we take without question, including penicillin. What was once a breakthrough is now a cornerstone of healthcare. And at a moment when vaccines, Tylenol and even basic public health guidance are being questioned, that kind of evidence-based decision-making feels more fragile—and more essential—than ever.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2025/09/26/mifepristone-safe-effective-science-women-health-ru-486/

27.09.2025

Commentary

abortion pill

anti-choice anti-science

Food and Drug Administration

telemedicine abortion

If Trump Restricts Mifepristone, Clinicians Are Ready to Pivot to Misoprostol-Only Abortions

7/7/2025
by Carrie N. Baker

For decades, clinicians relied on the gold standard of medication abortion care: a two-pill regimen. Mifepristone is taken first, followed by misoprostol 24 to 48 hours later. However, misoprostol can be used alone for abortion. Recent research on patients in the U.S. confirms that misoprostol-only abortion is not only safe and effective, but that patients respond positively to using it.

In light of the FDA’s recent decision to reopen its safety review of mifepristone—a move advocates warn may lead to new restrictions—abortion providers say they are ready to offer the misoprostol-only regimen to keep telehealth abortion available in all 50 states.

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2025/07/07/trump-restricts-mifepristone-misoprostol-only-abortions/

French scientist behind abortion pill dies aged 98

Rorey Bosotti, BBC News
May 30, 2025

The French scientist who created the abortion pill has died at the age of 98.

Étienne-Émile Baulieu helped develop the oral drug RU-486, also known as mifepristone, which has provided millions of women across the world with a safe and inexpensive alternative to a surgical abortion.

Dr Baulieu died at his home in Paris on Friday, his widow confirmed in a statement.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20ndk96vpvo

USA – How shoddy science is fueling a charge to restrict abortion pill access

The FDA has been tasked with re-evaluating the safety of mifepristone after a flawed report claimed it has a high rate of serious complications.

May 19, 2025
By Aria Bendix

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has tasked the Food and Drug Administration with conducting a safety review of mifepristone, a pill used in most U.S. abortions. Kennedy said this week that the review was warranted due to an “alarming” new report on serious adverse events released last month.

“Clearly it indicates that, at very least, the label should be changed,” he told Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., at a Senate budget hearing on Wednesday. “I’ve asked Marty Makary, who’s the director of FDA, to do a complete review and to report back.”

Continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/womens-health/shoddy-science-fueling-charge-restrict-abortion-pill-access-rcna207034

20.05.2025