Abortion Pills, Take Two
14Description
Abortion pills — a combo of two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol — are on notice: on April 7, 2023, a federal judge said the FDA’s approval of mifepristone was invalid. And then, not more than an hour later, another federal judge in a separate case said that mifepristone had to stay on the market in certain states. With these two contradictory rulings, mifepristone — and medical abortion, in general — is in the crosshairs. So, today, we want to rewind to an episode we made last year. It looks at these two drugs over the last 40 years, from their origin stories and development, to how their administration from doctors to patients keeps evolving. This story, for us, started…
Special thanks to Mariana Prandini Assis and Pam Belluck.
EPISODE CREDITS
Reported by - Molly Webster, Avir Mitra Produced by Sarah Qariwith mixing help from - Arianne WackFact-checking by - Diane Kellyand Edited by - Becca BresslerCITATIONS:
Articles:
From one of our sources, Abigail Aiken: “Safety and effectiveness of self-managed medication abortion provided using online telemedicine in the United States: A population based study” (https://zpr.io/kG3hNFXM4kb9)
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United States
saying that an abortion using mifiprostone is like "buying an Ikea couch" is such a male, uninformed thing to say. I've had an abortion, a surgical one, because I didn't know for a while. It was the most difficult decision of my life. It would have been just as difficult if I was able to have a non surgical abortion. No woman needs a man saying how easy it is. I love listening to Radiolab, but this show was poorly led by men who have no clue. Very disappointed at your representation of "how easy" this type of abortion is. I will aways fight for women's reproductive rights, abortions rights, and women's health care.