Abortion Pills Are Safe

Earlier this month, 20 Republicans in the Senate and 72 Republicans in the House of Representatives sent letters to the US Food and Drug Administration arguing that mifepristone – half of the two-drug combination commonly used for medication abortion – is so dangerous that it should be banned in the United States. If the FDA were to do this, it wouldn’t just take mifepristone off the market. It would make using it illegal in the United States.

But here’s what you need to understand about this attempt to eliminate abortion with pills: it’s based on lies.

For one thing, no matter what anti-abortion politicians claim, mifepristone is not dangerous. Only 14 deaths have been linked to it worldwide in the 20+ years it’s been available. By comparison, in the US alone, the maternal mortality rate just in 2018 was 17.4 people per 100,000 live births – which means that 658 Americans alone died two years ago from complications of pregnancy and childbirth.

For another, even if the FDA recalled mifepristone, it would still be nearly impossible to keep people from getting it and self-managing their own abortions, because it’s possible to buy it online.

And most importantly, a person who can’t get mifepristone at all can still have a safe self-managed abortion by using misoprostol alone.

So don’t panic, and don’t listen to misinformation about how abortion pills are dangerous or unavailable. Visit AbortionPillInfo.org to get the accurate information you need to make the best decision for you.