Abortion pill is neither safe nor effective, EPPC says

One in 19 mifepristone abortions fail, requiring women to seek additional medical intervention, according to a new study released on Monday by the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

This new report, the second part in a series, shows not only the danger of the abortion pill but also its ineffective results. The research also reveals the failed reporting and false advertising of the Food and Drug Administration.

“The real-world failure rate of mifepristone abortion – at least 5.3%, or about one in 19 cases – is double the failure rate from the U.S. clinical trials and roughly two-thirds higher than the combined failure rate from all clinical trials reported on the FDA-approved drug label,” the report says.

This failure rate builds upon the previous EPPC report of 10.9% of women who experience serious adverse events after taking the abortion pill. Additionally, 13.5% of women experience “at least one serious event or a repeated abortion attempt within 45 days of first attempting a mifepristone abortion.”

 “Altogether, roughly one in seven women who are prescribed a mifepristone abortion experiences a severe adverse event or undergoes a repeated abortion attempt soon afterwards due to the failure of the mifepristone abortion regimen,” the latest report says.

EPPC’s research surveyed an “all-payer insurance claims database” from 2017 to 2023, totaling 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions, according to the FAQ from the StopHarmingWomen website. This analysis uses the FDA’s definition of a “serious adverse event,” categorized as life-threatening, requiring hospitalization, or requiring a surgical intervention. All cases occurred within 45 days of a woman taking mifepristone and reasonably relate to the medication-induced abortion.

EPPC President Ryan T. Anderson says this latest report combined with the previous April report refutes FDA’s dual claims of the drug’s safety and effectiveness. 

“This real-world data reveals the disturbing truth about the abortion pill to the public for the first time,” Anderson said in a press release. “Last week we showed that the pill is far less safe than the FDA has said. Now, we reveal that the pill is far less effective than the FDA has said. The public deserves a clear and honest evaluation of this drug.”