The Food and Drug Administration quietly approved a new generic version of mifepristone — one of two pills used in medication abortion — expanding supply at a crucial time.
Nearly two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. are now medication-based, and access to these pills, especially via telemedicine, has kept reproductive care within reach for millions, even after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
The approval comes amid mounting pressure from anti-abortion activists urging the Trump administration to restrict access. But scientists and reproductive health experts stress that mifepristone is safe, effective, and backed by decades of research.
With the new generic expected to launch in January, access to affordable medication abortion could expand — even as political battles over reproductive rights intensify.
As reported on October 2 in the New York Times:
“The decision comes as anti-abortion activists have been urging the F.D.A. and the Department of Health and Human Services to curtail access to abortion pills, which have been prescribed in increasing numbers in the years since the Supreme Court overturned the national right to abortion in 2022.
“Currently, nearly two-thirds of abortions in the country are carried out with medication. Access to abortion pills, especially through telemedicine, is a major reason that the number of abortions in the United States has not decreased since the Supreme Court decision.
“Medication abortion is typically a two-drug regimen in which mifepristone is taken to stop the development of a pregnancy and is followed 24 to 48 hours later by another drug, misoprostol, which causes contractions similar to a miscarriage. The regimen is used in the United States up through 12 weeks of pregnancy.
“The F.D.A. said the same standards and regulations would apply to the new generic version of mifepristone as are followed by the other two manufacturers.”
