Big Pharma cares about one thing – profit. That explains why the abortion industry has been deceiving women about the true risks associated with the abortion pill mifepristone for over two decades. 

The Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) conducted the largest-known study of the abortion pill to date, analyzing over 865,000 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023 based on data collected from insurance claims. Their groundbreaking findings should trigger a federal investigation into the FDA’s negligent approval of mifepristone.

“Danco Laboratories markets Mifeprex as ‘the safe and effective abortion pill,’ but our research shows that mifepristone abortion, as currently practiced in the U.S., is not safe and effective,” the EPPC study states. “The manufacturer and the FDA rely on the results of 10 clinical trials with a total of 30,966 participants, less than 0.5 percent of whom reportedly experienced serious adverse reactions. In contrast, we analyzed real-world insurance claims data for 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions, broadly representative of women who obtain mifepristone abortions in the U.S. today, and we find a serious adverse event rate of 10.93 percent—at least 22 times as high as the summary figure reported on the drug label.”

The FDA initially approved mifepristone, the first of a two-drug protocol now used to kill babies through the 10th week of pregnancy, in 2000 under the Clinton administration despite a serious lack of clinical trials and data. In fact, the FDA approved the drug under a rarely used process for “certain new drug products that have been studied for their safety and effectiveness in treating serious or life-threatening illnesses and that provide meaningful therapeutic benefit to patients over existing treatments.” Thus, the FDA had to classify an unwanted pregnancy as a “serious or life-threatening illness” in order to justify approval with such minimal data.

The multitude of adverse effects was immediately apparent, but instead of revoking approval of the drug, the FDA loosened regulations in 2016 during the Obama administration to allow healthcare providers who are not physicians to prescribe the drug. Of course, this didn’t go well – even more women were needlessly put in harm’s way. But in 2023, under the Biden administration, the FDA once again deregulated the dangerous drug, allowing it to be prescribed over video call and sent in the mail. 

The EPPC study found that “10.93 percent of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.” Over 5,600 women required hospitalization following the use of mifepristone from 2017-2023, and 40,960 visited the ER. The chart below details the 94,605 documented adverse events women experienced from taking the abortion pill.

“Our research shows unequivocally that mifepristone abortion, as currently practiced in the U.S., is considerably more dangerous to women than is represented on the FDA-approved drug label,” the study established.

Although abortion pills are illegal in South Dakota, pregnancy resource centers in our state can attest to the fact that many women still manage to get their hands on them. Several abortion groups are devoted specifically to smuggling abortion pills to pregnant women who live in states where the drugs are banned. Here’s what South Dakota pro-life groups shared with us about the reality of abortion pills:

• “Pregnancy resource centers are here to give women factual information so they may make an informed decision, it is clear the abortion industry does not want women to know the truth.” – Travis Lasseter, Black Hills Pregnancy Center
• “We all have heard the horror stories of women and girls going through these abortions alone at home, with no medical guidance whatsoever. These pills are extremely dangerous, because they can be mailed and delivered to girls who may be too young to understand the risks that come with taking them, and they may not know what to do if they start experiencing a medical emergency.” – Jenn Lee, South Dakota Right to Life
• “I’ve seen countless tragic situations of the abortion pill harming women. Now, the national data is catching up to what’s really happening on the ground and the devastating effects on women’s health. It’s time we learn the truth. As this article outlines so well, women deserve better than the abortion pill.” – Jenna Spellerberg, Alpha Center Nurse Manager

The FDA is certainly complicit in the deaths of at least 36 women due to its negligent approval and deregulation of mifepristone. We stand in agreement with the EPPC: “In light of this research, we urge the FDA to reinstate earlier, stronger patient safety protocols and reconsider its approval of mifepristone altogether. Women deserve better than the abortion pill.”