Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has requested a review of mifepristone, commonly known as the abortion pill, from Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary. This inquiry raises significant questions about the drug's safety and accessibility.

A spokesperson for the FDA confirmed the review plans but did not specify when it would begin or what aspects of the medication would be examined. According to a letter shared on social media by Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, the review is intended to closely monitor the drug's safety. However, experts argue that concerns regarding mifepristone's safety are largely unfounded.

The Ethics and Public Policy Center, an advocacy group funded by various right-wing organizations, released a report claiming that mifepristone causes serious adverse events in 1 in 10 patients. These events include hemorrhage, emergency room visits, ectopic pregnancies, and unspecified "abortion-specific complications." This report has not been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, raising questions about its credibility.

Dr. Céline Gounder, a medical contributor for CBS News, criticized the report's claims. "When you have a medication abortion, you bleed. That is normal. That is not an adverse event unless the bleeding is so significant that a woman needs a transfusion," she stated. Gounder emphasized that not all medication abortions will successfully terminate a pregnancy, and a surgical abortion following an incomplete medication abortion should not be classified as an adverse event. She also noted that ectopic pregnancies are not caused by mifepristone and should not be included in adverse event statistics.

The FDA has maintained that mifepristone was approved in 2000 after a thorough review confirmed its safety and effectiveness. Since then, periodic evaluations have not identified new safety concerns. Gounder pointed out that the report lacks transparency, as it does not disclose its data sources, making it impossible to verify the findings. She also mentioned that the report does not include a comparison group, which is essential for assessing the experiences of women who did not take the drug.

While the impact of the FDA's latest review on access to mifepristone remains uncertain, this is not the first time the drug has faced scrutiny. In 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the availability of mifepristone in a significant ruling related to abortion rights, rejecting a challenge that sought to limit access to the medication. The justices unanimously determined that the anti-abortion doctors and medical associations involved in the lawsuit did not have the legal standing to challenge the FDA's actions.

Makary had previously stated that he had "no plans to take action on mifepristone," despite ongoing calls from abortion opponents to reconsider its approval. Since its introduction, mifepristone has been used by over 5 million patients. According to a study by the Guttmacher Institute, medication abortions accounted for more than half of all abortions in the United States in 2023. However, 28 states have implemented policies that restrict access to mifepristone in various ways, with four states prohibiting the mailing of abortion pills to patients.