The abortion pill mifepristone has been on uncertain legal ground ever since a Texas judge ruled that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s approval more than two decades ago should be suspended. After the Department of Justice appealed the decision and requested that the Supreme Court step in, the high court decided that mifepristone should remain available while courts continue to decide its legal fate.
With one abortion pill in legal limbo, experts are now worried about possible threats to the other one: misoprostol. Here's what to know.
The drug is FDA approved to treat ulcers and, when used with mifepristone, to induce abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy.
Health-care providers can still use misoprostol on its own for abortions or to manage miscarriages in “off-label” use, a common practice that allows them to prescribe any approved drug for purposes other than those for which they are indicated.
Legal and health experts worry that misoprostol's off-label use in abortion might come under legal threat. Misoprostol is not currently being challenged, but states in which abortion is legal are stockpiling the drug and passing laws to protect it.
"Humor can help the therapeutic relationship. It removes some of the perceived power dynamic that might exist and helps bring us both onto the same level."
—Kate Nichols, psychotherapist and stand-up comic
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Today's newsletter was written by Alice Park and Angela Haupt, and edited by Mandy Oaklander.
