Over 16 years ago, the United States stood on the brink of a reproductive rights revolution. The FDA was in the final stretch of approving mifepristone, a drug already available in Europe in China, which was said to make ending a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks as easy as taking a pill. Reproductive health advocates stateside anticipated that this move would radically change the landscape of abortion access.
Even after the victory of Roe v. Wade, hospitals shied away from providing abortion services due to intense stigma and political maneuvering by anti-abortion activists. As a result, surgical abortion had been confined to some of the only spaces willing to help women: stand-alone reproductive health clinics, which were scarce, not to mention vulnerable targets for protesters. In the late 90s, the abortion pill was set to change that.
Read more on Broadly
Advertisement