Abortion pill mifepristone sparks new pro-life debate as some doctors stress safety concerns

Pro-choice lawmakers, doctors and advocates have argued the science is settled when it comes to the controversial abortion pill mifepristone. They say the drug is safe and needs to be widely available with virtually no restrictions. Even some GOP lawmakers have shown support for retaining women's access to the pill, which is much more widely available today than it was just a few years ago. 

While pro-choice advocates have suggested the deaths of Thurman and Miller were the result of anti-abortion laws and the chilling effect they have incurred on women seeking abortions, Francis said their deaths were instead the result of a powerful medication that lacks the necessary safeguards. 

"Many of the studies that abortion advocates like to quote to state that mifepristone has very few complications don't actually reflect real world use of mifepristone," she said. "Most of those studies, women will have had an in-person visit, as well as an ultrasound, actually documenting how far along they are in their pregnancy, as well as ensuring that they did not have an ectopic pregnancy before they receive those drugs. When, in fact, that's not real-world use right now."

Francis pointed out that real-world use actually "means that they order them online."

"They're not seen by any kind of medical professional to confirm their gestational age or to rule out an ectopic pregnancy, which we know happens in one in 50 pregnancies," Francis said. "If you look at the FDA's own label - and again, this was when there was still the in-person dispensing requirement - their own label says that one in 25 women will go to the emergency room due to complications related to these drugs. That is not a safe drug. Safe drugs don't send one in 25 people to the emergency room."

"The only way to tell the bleeding, cramping, and pain is from a miscarriage, the abortion pill, or even from an ectopic pregnancy, is to actually do an ultrasound," Dr. William Lile, a pro-life OB-GYN who has delivered more than 5,000 babies, told Fox News Digital.   

"If she has an ectopic pregnancy that's undiagnosed, she starts having these symptoms. She's going to think that it's the result of the abortion drugs that she took, and it's normal, and she's going to stay home while she's bleeding into her abdomen and losing precious time. That could be the difference between life and death," Francis said. 

Mifepristone is also prone to causing retained tissue and atypical sepsis as well, something Thurman suffered from before her death.

"When we know that this drug carries these kinds of complications, we are saying women deserve better care and better oversight when they're being given these drugs," Francis said. "These are not benign drugs. Women deserve follow-up care. They deserve ongoing care."

Pro-choice advocates argue that mifepristone is safe, citing numerous studies showing its safety and effectiveness, including for treating miscarriages, from as far back as 1988. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists call the drug safe and effective for abortion and miscarriage care. 

Autumn Katz, interim director of litigation at the Center for Reproductive Rights, called claims against mifepristone "false," noting they have been "thoroughly debunked."