image by: Robin Marty

HWN Suggests

Beyond the 'abortion pill': Real-life experiences of individuals taking mifepristone

For a while, it was known as RU-486. It's called Mifeprex or mifepristone – but many know it as "the abortion pill." It is one of two drugs – along with misoprostol – that are used in more than half of abortions in the U.S. now. And it is the subject of a federal court case that could make it illegal.

The stories illustrate how mifepristone is indeed an "abortion pill" — but it also plays other important roles in people's lives.

read full article

Featured

 Supreme Court Maintains Broad Access to Abortion Pill

The decision does not eliminate efforts to restrict the availability of the pill. By dodging a ruling on the substance of the case, the justices avoided delivering a clear, substantive win to either political party or a decision they could use to motivate their base. Abortion rights groups cautioned that the ruling only maintained the status quo. “The anti-abortion movement sees how critical abortion pills are in this post-Roe world, and they are hell bent on cutting off access,” Nancy Northup, the president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.

 The History of Mifepristone

French researchers developed mifepristone (also known as RU-486) in the 1980s to be taken with misoprostol for medication abortion care. Despite the outcry of anti-abortion activists, it was approved for use in France in 1988. In the United States, however, it was a very different story, as the FDA banned the importation of mifepristone in 1989.

Articles of Interest

How Medication Abortion with RU-486/Mifepristone Works

A step-by-step look at how these drugs end pregnancy.

Mifepristone (RU-486): Myths and Facts

U.S. clinical trials confirmed the findings of studies conducted in France in which thousands of women took mifepristone in combination with misoprostol as an early-option abortion method. The French trials showed the drug combination to be 95.5% effective for ending pregnancies of up to 49 days' gestation.

The Abortion Pill Is Safer Than Tylenol and Almost Impossible to Get

Mifepristone could—but probably won’t—revolutionize a post-Roe world.

The Other Pill

A medical abortion actually involves a set of two pills, to be taken within about 48 hours of each other. The first pill, mifepristone (brand name Mifeprex), blocks the hormones necessary for pregnancy. The second, misoprostol, induces contractions. Together, they trigger what looks and feels like a heavy period. This kind of abortion is generally deemed appropriate within the first nine weeks of a pregnancy. Unlike a surgical abortion, it doesn’t involve anesthesia or require the supervision of a doctor to be safe.

What Is Mifepristone and How Is It Used?

About half of people who get legal abortions in the United States — and three-quarters in Europe — use medication abortion.

What is the abortion pill mifepristone and is it safe?

Abortion pills are now the most common method of ending a pregnancy in the US, accounting for more than half of all abortions in the country. They have also become the new frontier in the US battle over abortion access.

Resources

Mifepristone and misoprostol: Recommended regimen

Mifepristone 200mg orally followed 1-2 days later by misoprostol 800mcg buccally, sublingually or vaginally. The dose of misoprostol can be repeated to achieve abortion success. After 9 weeks gestation, routinely using at least two doses of misoprostol, administered 3-4 hours apart, improves abortion success rates. A combined regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol is effective and safe with abortion success rates over 95%, continuing pregnancy rates around 2% and complication rates of 1-3%.

Mifepristone ( Mifeprex)

Mifepristone works by blocking the hormone progesterone. Without progesterone, the lining of the uterus breaks down and the pregnancy cannot continue.