The Propaganda That Threatens the FDA’s Mifepristone Regulations

Mifepristone is the first (and extremely safe) of two medications that people will take during a medication abortion—and access to it is under blatant attack in the courts. Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, Public Health Scientist based at University of California San Francisco, and Julia Kaye, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, sit down to talk with us about recent anti-abortion propaganda and how it could be used to shape the FDA’s regulations of medication abortion.

A past case, Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, was brought by anti-abortion groups to a federal judge in Texas known to have a hostile record against abortion with the goal of challenging the FDA’s mifepristone regulations. In June 2024, The Supreme Court ruled that these groups could not challenge the regulations. Anti-abortion Attorneys General of Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho are now attempting to revive this litigation, called Missouri v. FDA. Meanwhile, a new report from a Project 2025-backed organization falsely states that 11% of people who have a medication abortion have a serious adverse event. Sec. Kennedy has cited this report as a basis for conducting a “complete review” of the FDA’s mifepristone regulations.

Links from this episode

Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health
ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project
ACLU’s People Power
Trump Administration Announces that FDA Will Consider Imposing Greater Restrictions on Medication Abortion Nationwide
Dr. Upadhyay’s Comment Letter critiquing the EPPC report
Critique of the EPPC report from Society of Family Planning
GOP Lays Groundwork To Restrict Abortion Pill With New Junk Science Report

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Transcript

Jennie: Welcome to rePROs Fight Back, a podcast on all things related to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. [music intro]

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