Her Accidental Legacy
Even before mifepristone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000, anti-abortion groups had lobbied to keep what they called a “chemical coat hanger” off the market. When the FDA approved it anyway, opponents warned it was unsafe. But so far, of the more than 200,000 American women who have taken the drug, less than 0.2 percent reported “adverse events” of any kind to the FDA. Last year, after the drug’s maker, Danco, sent a warning letter to doctors detailing a handful of serious complications–including hemorrhaging and bacterial infections–three conservative groups filed a citizens’ petition with the FDA to pull the drug off the market....