Abortion Pill: The Rise of Chemical Abortions

Jessica Grabowski, Contributor

Chemical abortions are on the rise. While the abortion drug, mifepristone, has been used more widely over the past two and half decades since its approval in 2000, it continues to become even more accessible and more commonly used for abortions across the U.S. in recent years. Complications from this drug are vastly underreported. But studies are becoming more readily available to illuminate the true statistics of complications and adverse effects that arise from the use of the abortion pill.

September of 2025, Randal K. O’Bannon, Ph.D., National Right to Life Director of Education and Research, published a white paper explaining why abortion pill complications are underreported. He states, “Independent research demonstrates that complications from the abortion drug mifepristone (RU-486) occur at far higher rates than abortion advocates and the media typically report. While abortion industry studies claim serious complications occur in less than 0.5% of cases, a major 2024 analysis of over 865,000 insurance claims found serious adverse events—hemorrhage, infection, failed abortions, and surgical follow-up—occurred in about 11% of women, a figure supported by international studies.”

Issues highlighted in this detailed report are the push for women to conceal complications from their chemical abortion, contemptible lack of curiosity in the media minimizing complications, and a spin by the abortion industry reclassifying significant complications as “minor" leading to the purposeful omission of true minor complications altogether. A 2025 study done by Ushma Upadhyay and team reports that of patients having mifepristone abortions, only 0.31% experience “major” complications. If both “major” and “minor” complications are included, Upadhyay and team report their rate is actually 5.19%, closer to one in 19 rather than the one out of every 200 reported to the press. This is merely a single example of the spin on reality as the “complications” are reduced to less than they are and the reports given to the public are skewed towards results redefined by inaccurate measures of risk.

Ethics and Public Policy Center published research in April and May of 2025 reporting on the abortion pill, it’s harm to women, and revealing that insurance data shows one in ten patients experiences a serious adverse event to the abortion pill. This is the largest known study of the abortion pill and is based on analysis of data from an all-payer insurance claims database that includes 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017-2023. Their key findings showed that 10.93 percent of women experiences sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging or another serious life-threatening adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.

Ethics and Public Policy Center: The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event (Hall & Anderson), April 28, 2025

Ethics and Public Policy Center published research in April 2025 reporting on the abortion pill’s harm to women, and revealing that insurance data shows one in ten patients experiences a serious adverse event to the abortion pill. This is the largest known study of the abortion pill and is based on analysis of data from an all-payer insurance claims database that includes 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017-2023. Their key findings showed that 10.93 percent of women experiences sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging or other serious life-threatening adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.

The Ethics and Public Policy Center show that due to the findings of this study, the FDA should immediately reinstate its earlier, stronger patient safety protocols to ensure physician responsibility of women who take mifepristone under their care, as well as mandate full reporting of its side effects. They conclude the FDA’s need to investigate the harm mifepristone causes to women and, based on objective safety criteria, reconsider its approval altogether. In the last two and a half decades, the FDA has drastically changed (weakened) their safeguards and requirements for use of mifepristone. As is becoming evident, there is an ethical need to strengthen these immediately for the safety of women.