Women across the U.S. may soon be unable to obtain one of two drugs typically used to induce medical abortions because of a high-stakes court case seen as the next step in the fight over abortion access.
A U.S. federal judge in Texas will hear arguments Wednesday morning from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and an anti-abortion group that argues the FDA was wrong to approve mifepristone over 20 years ago.
The drug, along with misoprostol, can be taken by women at home and together they form the two-drug combination known colloquially as the abortion pill, which is used in just over half of all abortions in the U.S.
If U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk rules against the FDA, it could immediately shut down the sale of mifepristone as the lawsuit plays out in the upper courts — a process that will lead to years of uncertainty.
“This is a terrible attack on abortion rights and the spreading of misinformation on a pill that is a gold standard by the World Health Organization, a pill that many, many people use in the U.S. and in Canada,” said Farrah Khan, executive director of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights.
Mifepristone dilates the cervix and blocks the action of the hormone progesterone, which is vital to continuing a pregnancy. Misoprostol causes contractions that empty the uterus. Typically, mifepristone is taken by mouth first, followed by misoprostol a day or two later.
Decades of studies show medication abortions are safe and effective, with a 95 to 99 per cent success rate around the world.
Although research shows misoprostol taken on its own is also highly effective and safe — the single-dose regimen is common in other parts of the world where mifepristone is scarce — it can be slightly less effective and more painful than the two-dose regimen.
When the FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 it placed several safety restrictions on its use, including limiting dispensing to specialty clinics and requiring women to pick up the…
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