Mifepristone Is a Safe and Effective Medication Used for Abortion 

Mifepristone is commonly used in medication abortion, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone in 2000, and its safety has been rigorously tested—decades of studies analyzing hundreds of thousands of patient outcomes have conclusively proven that mifepristone is safe and effective. Based on this overwhelming safety record, FDA has, over the last decade, lifted some prior restrictions on how the medication is administered. These FDA decisions have allowed a broader group of health care providers to administer mifepristone, including by telehealth, increasing access to the medication. Despite FDA’s recent removal of some restrictions, mifepristone is far more regulated than other medications with similar safety profiles. Many states have also imposed laws and policies restricting access to mifepristone beyond FDA’s regulations. 

Litigation and Federal Action Could Affect Access to Mifepristone Nationwide 

Despite mifepristone’s record of safety and effectiveness, anti-abortion activists have pursued various strategies to ban or undercut access to it. In recent years, anti-abortion activists have brought litigation challenging FDA’s original approval of mifepristone and recent decisions relaxing some of the restrictions on the medication. At the same time, because mifepristone is still subject to more rigorous restrictions than other drugs with a similar safety profile, health care providers and advocacy organizations have challenged regulations of mifepristone that create unnecessary barriers to access.  The outcome of these cases could affect access to mifepristone throughout the country—stay updated through the Mifepristone Litigation Tracker.    

The federal government may also independently take administrative and agency actions, apart from its involvement in any litigation, that could affect regulation of and access to mifepristone. FDA may modify the current regulations governing mifepristone, including in response to the citizen petition process, by which people may issue formal requests for the agency to take action. There’s reason to keep an eye on federal actions related to mifepristone—despite an overwhelming body of gold standard science definitively establishing the safety and effectiveness of mifepristone, the federal government recently announced FDA is conducting a new review of mifepristone prompted by a report that has been denounced by more than 260 expert researchers as methodologically flawed and unreliable. Stay updated on the federal government’s actions related to mifepristone since January 1, 2025, through the Mifepristone Federal Action Tracker.