The mifepristonea drug widely used in the United States to induce abortion in pregnant women 10 weeks or less, has become a target of the country’s anti-abortion movement.
On April 7, a federal judge in Texas ruled in favor of a group challenging the U.S. authorization of mifepristone. United States Drug Administration (FDA), in force for more than two decades.
Here’s a timeline of the drug’s history and the recent legal fight in the United States, which will likely end up in the Supreme Court.
development and distribution
- 1980: French researchers develop mifepristone, initially named RU-486 for its chemical composition.
- 1988: Mifepristone is approved for medical abortions in France, with adoption in other countries in subsequent years.
- 2000: The FDA declares mifepristone safe for use in the United States to terminate pregnancies up to seven weeks gestation. It can only be dispensed to users directly in clinics, doctor’s offices and hospitals.
- 2016: The FDA says that mifepristone can be prescribed for pregnancies up to 10 weeks gestation.
- 2020-21: FDA halts enforcement of in-person dispensing requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic and allows mifepristone to be mailed to patients following telemedicine visits.
Annulment of Roe v. Wade
- June 24, 2022: The Supreme Court annuls the historic decision Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed the right of women to abortion throughout the United States. The ruling allows each state to set its own rules, with about half of the 50 states prohibiting or strictly restricting the procedure. Mifepristone quickly becomes a new target for anti-abortion activists.
- January 3, 2023: The FDA rules that the drug can be distributed to users by certified pharmacies, including by mail order.
- April 7, 2023: A federal judge in Texas is imposing a nationwide ban on the distribution of mifepristone, set to begin after a week-long delay, while he handles a lawsuit from anti-abortion activists challenging the drug’s 2000 FDA approval.
- April 12, 2023: A federal appeals court partially overturns the Texas judge’s decision, saying it was too late for the plaintiffs to challenge the FDA’s 2000 approval of the drug. But the appeals court accepts the judge’s blocking of the decision FDA’s 2016 decision to extend the use of mifepristone to 10 weeks’ gestation, and its decision to allow distribution by mail order.
- April 13, 2023: He Justice Department of the United States, under the presidency of the Democrat Joe Bidenannounces that it will file an emergency petition with the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the appeals court decision imposing new restrictions on mifepristone.
