However, the right to access mifepristone doesn’t apply in every state.
“Access hasn’t changed from what it was before the decision. The issue is that access is still tough for a number of pregnant persons,” said Dr. Monica Saxena, an emergency medicine physician in Palo Alto, California.
How far into a pregnancy can you use mifepristone?
Nearly two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. are medication abortions, according to a report by the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion access. Medication abortions consist of taking two pills: mifepristone followed a day or two later by misoprostol.
Mifepristone is approved for use up to 10 weeks’ gestation, or 70 days. However, some doctors may prescribe it beyond that time frame, a practice called off-label use, said Dr. Reagan McDonald-Mosley, a practicing OB/GYN in Washington, D.C., and CEO of Power to Decide, an organization that supports access to abortion and contraception.
“Off-label use is not uncommon in any medication,” McDonald-Mosley said. “The provider has made a decision based on evidence to provide that medication in a way that is different from what’s on the label.”
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ recommendations for mifepristone say that while the FDA approves it for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, “evidence also exists to support safe and effective use with more advanced gestations.” In Sweden, for example, mifepristone is used up to 12 weeks’ gestation, according to Guttmacher.
