Oppose Congressional Attempts to Restrict Access to Mifepristone
The great promise of mifepristone is threatened, however, by anti-choice extremists who have announced that they intend to introduce legislation that would remove the drug from the market for at least six months and maybe longer. The proposal is based on unfounded assertions that the drug is dangerous and that the FDA failed to follow its own regulations when it approved the drug. The FDA, not Congress, should regulate drug safety.
Urge your Members of Congress to reject this attempt to inject anti-choice politics into medical decision making.
Support Access to Mifepristone (RU-486)!
Anti-choice politicians must not be allowed to block beneficial medical developments for women.
Mifepristone represents an important new reproductive health care option for American women. Yet the same anti-choice forces that have spent the past six years chipping away at a woman's right to choose one step at a time should not be allowed to rob women of this significant medical advancement. Mifepristone promises to give women, especially those who live far from an abortion provider, better access to a safe, private and early option for ending a pregnancy. Additionally, researchers have identified many potential uses for mifepristone beyond pregnancy termination, including the treatment of breast cancer, endometriosis, glaucoma, meningioma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and other conditions.
Further restriction is not medically necessary.
In the last decade, more than half a million women in Europe have safely used mifepristone, as have thousands of American women in clinical trials. In 1996, the FDA declared the drug safe and effective for use as an early method of abortion. While the FDA imposed some restrictions on the drug in its final approval, it chose not to adopt the severe limitations in this bill.
Congress must not substitute its views for the judgments of medical experts at the FDA.
The FDA is an expert body charged with ensuring the integrity of the drug approval process. The FDA has made clear that the approval of mifepristone resulted from its careful evaluation of the medical evidence under strict scientific protocols. It is inappropriate for Congress to second-guess the considered judgments of medical experts.
TAKE ACTION!