Study: FDA allowed mail-order abortion pills without ‘sufficient evidence’ of safety

A study by scholars at the Charlotte Lozier Institute claims the U.S. Food and Drug Administration lacked enough evidence to allow the mail-order dispensing of abortion pills. The report, published October 6 in the journal Issues in Law and Medicine, argues that the FDA's safety studies did not reflect real-world conditions of how the medication is actually used.

Authors Zachery Sluzala and Ingrid Skop found that the FDA relied on analysis from groups with political incentives and used inadequate reporting for adverse events. Ingrid Skop, an obstetrician-gynecologist with the Lozier Institute, stated that the agency's safety decisions failed to mimic the conditions in which women use the drugs, falling short of the standard required when removing regulations designed to protect patient health.

In a separate update regarding a court-ordered safety review of the medication, the FDA announced it expects to have results by mid-December. The agency plans to complete its final safety report in March 2027. This timeline follows a requirement from a federal judge in Louisiana to provide status reports on the review.