New Study Reveals Abortion Pill Harms 1 in 10 Women, Far Exceeding FDA Claims
A landmark new study could shift public perception of the abortion pill -- and, critics hope, lead to tighter regulations. The study of 865,727 women who were prescribed the abortion pill from 2017 to 2023 found that 10.93 percent of them experienced sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days of use.
The 10.93 percent is a 22-fold increase over the 0.5 percent reported in clinical trials cited by the FDA and the manufacturer Danco involving nearly 31,000 participants. The drug at the center of the controversy is mifepristone, marketed under the brand name Mifeprex.
The new study, released by the Ethics & Public Policy Center, was based on an insurance claims database. It is the largest-known study of its kind.
“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,” said the study’s authors, Jamie Bryan Hall and Ryan T. Anderson.
The abortion pill was approved under the Clinton administration in 2000 with strict safeguards, such as three in-person visits to a physician. Since then, the restrictions have been loosened -- first under the Obama administration and then under President Biden. The Biden administration removed the long-standing requirement for in-person visits to obtain the abortion pill, allowing it to be prescribed via telemedicine and delivered by mail.
The Trump administration has not overturned the Biden rules.
“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,” the study’s authors wrote.
The abortion pill regimen involves two medications: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone, causing the uterine lining to break down and killing the unborn baby. Misoprostol, taken next, induces contractions to expel the dead fetus. The two drugs are approved for use only in the early stages of pregnancy.
Mifepristone is the drug at the center of the controversy. Although misoprostol is part of the regimen, it has other uses too, including treating ulcers.
Randall K. O’Bannon, director of education and research at National Right to Life, said the study will change the debate over the abortion pill.
“Every time pro-lifers want to challenge safety claims made about the abortion pill mifepristone, abortion advocates and their loyal media allies like to quote the claim of the drug’s official label from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that clinical studies showed ‘Serious adverse reactions were reported in 0.5 percent of women,’” he said. “Women are told that the complication rate for chemical abortions is minimal, but hemorrhage, infection, and failure to identify rupturing ectopic pregnancies are the realities.”
The website accompanying the study, StopHarmingWomen.org, includes testimonials from women who were harmed by the abortion pill.
Jor-El Godsey, president of Heartbeat International, said the findings should impact public policy. Heartbeat International oversees a coalition of pregnancy help centers.
“This groundbreaking study confirms what women and the pro-life community have long known: the abortion pill is not safe,” Godsey told Pregnancy Help News. “Women deserve care, not careless risks disguised as healthcare. The FDA must act swiftly to reinstate commonsense safeguards for the abortion pill -- or reconsider its approval altogether. Women’s lives and health are far too valuable to be treated as acceptable casualties in the rush to expand chemical abortion.”
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/kitzcorner
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
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Originally published April 29, 2025.
