President Obama has demonstrated support for increasing access to safe, legal abortion care. In one of his first acts as President, he lifted the Global Gag Rule, a ban on U.S. funding for international groups that perform abortions, promote legalizing abortion, or provide counseling on the full range of reproductive health options. President Obama supported and signed into law the removal of restrictions on the use of local funds for abortion care in the District of Columbia. The President has appointed fair and unbiased judicial nominees, and he has committed to promoting the values of women's choice in Roe v. Wade.
The Food and Drug Administration, an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, has been asked by anti-choice groups to withdraw its approval of mifepristone, also known as RU-486, or, alternatively, place unnecessary restrictions on its use. Their requests lack any scientific basis and must be denied.
NAF and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) submitted to the FDA a response to these requests. This document is a comprehensive and extensively referenced discussion of the proven safety of mifepristone. There is no medical reason to change the existing provider qualifications and protocols for ultrasound. The safety and efficacy of mifepristone has been proven time and time again. Since the FDA's approval of mifepristone in 2000, more than 1.1 million American women have used mifepristone to safely terminate an early pregnancy.
> Full text of the NAF and PPFA comments to the FDA
(PDF file, 1.0 MB)
> Executive summary (PDF file, 44K)
> Original citizen petition by anti-choice groups (PDF file)
> Population Council and Danco Laboratories' opposition
(PDF file)
> Follow-up response by the petitioners (PDF file)
Find out about Congressional attacks on mifepristone
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