New Study of Abortion Pill Reveals Startling Failure Rate

The failure rate of the abortion pill is double that which has previously been shared with the public. 

(Washington, DC): A new report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center reveals that the real-world failure rate of mifepristone abortion is double what has previously been shared with the public.

The real-world failure rate of mifepristone abortion—5.26 percent, or about one in 19 cases—is double the failure rate of 2.6 percent from the U.S. clinical trials and roughly two-thirds higher than the combined failure rate of 3.2 percent from all clinical trials reported on the FDA-approved drug label.

Altogether, 13.51 percent of women—roughly one in seven—experience at least one serious adverse event or repeated abortion attempt within 45 days of first attempting a mifepristone abortion.

The study, authored by Jamie Bryan Hall, EPPC’s Director of Data Analysis, and Ryan T. Anderson, EPPC’s President, builds on their groundbreaking report released last week which revealed the shocking number of adverse events from the abortion pill.

“This real-world data reveals the disturbing truth about the abortion pill to the public for the first time Last week we showed that the pill is far less safe than the FDA has said. Now, we reveal that the pill is far less effective than the FDA has said. The public deserves a clear and honest evaluation of this drug.” - EPPC President Ryan T. Anderson

This largest-known study of the abortion pill is based on analysis of data from an all-payer insurance claims database that includes 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023. 

Based on these new findings, the report authors call on the FDA to immediately reinstate its earlier, stronger patient safety protocols to ensure physician responsibility for women who take mifepristone under their care, as well as mandate full reporting of its side effects. Additionally, they call for the FDA to investigate the harm this drug causes to women and, based on objective safety and effectiveness criteria, reconsider its approval altogether.