A new study suggests that a pill previously used only for emergency contraception (EC) could be repurposed as an abortion drug. In areas where abortion is limited or expensive, this drug is a potential alternative to mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in the most common type of abortion in the U.S.
What you need to know:
- An emergency contraception drug Ella is being studied for abortion use in order to more readily get abortion into red states who have set limits on mifepristone.
- Ella, like mifepristone, is available through telehealth and can be delivered in a matter of hours to women’s doorsteps.
- Studies confirm unsupervised medical abortion can lead to increased maternal morbidity and mortality.
- Abortion enthusiasts may blur the lines between the FDA approved use of this drug and its use as an abortifacient in order to further expand abortion.
What is this drug and was it effective for abortions?
Conducted in Mexico and published Jan. 23 in the journal NEJM Evidence, this study tested ulipristal acetate, the active ingredient in the prescription contraceptive Ella. Ella is one of two types of morning-after pills approved in the United States.
In this “proof of concept” study, 133 women, each nine weeks pregnant, were given a double dose of Ella along with misoprostol. Instead of giving them a single dose of Ella (30 mg), they were given 60 mg and then the contraction medication misoprostol on the second day.
The result was 97% of the pregnancies were aborted. This success rate rivals that of the mifepristone/misoprostol cocktail which is now responsible for more than ¾ of all abortions throughout the world. Just like mifepristone, Ella is readily available by mail order and online pharmacies.
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How is Ella like the abortion pill?
Dr. William Lile, an APRN advisory team member, explains: “Medications are all about chemical structure and when you look at the chemical structure of Ella and you look at the abortion pill mifepristone, they look very similar.”
Ella works in a similar way as mifepristone - as a progesterone receptor modulator. Drugs that act as progesterone antagonists are abortifacients. They block the effects of progesterone, an essential hormone in pregnancy, which ends the life of the preborn child and the pregnancy.
Approved by the FDA only for emergency contraception, Ella is available by prescription only in the United States, but other ECs don’t require prescription. The abortion pill and Ella are both available through the internet, shipped directly to doorsteps of women desperate for answers for the difficulties they are facing.
Julie Lynch McDonald, Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) advisory member and pharmacist, explains their similarities in a recent article, “Ulipristal and mifepristone are chemically identical aside for a substitution on the 17th carbon.”
She gives further detail, “At low doses, ulipristal and mifepristone can suppress/prevent ovulation, thus acting as EC. However, ulipristal and mifepristone are also powerful pure progesterone antagonists thus unavoidably resulting in post-fertilization and postimplantation effects.”
Why would Ella be used for abortion?
The prospective alternative to mifepristone could further complicate the politics of abortion and challenge state abortion laws because it is also the key ingredient in a contraceptive morning-after pill. Some abortion proponents see this as a quick answer to dispensing abortion to women in red states where availability of mifepristone has been limited.
Dr. George Delgado, the founder of the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, current researcher. and APRN advisory team member, states this was to be expected that abortion proponents would work to use this drug to end life.
“Ella (ulipristal) is very similar to mifepristone as it is a progesterone receptor antagonist,” he shared just after the results of the Ella study were released. “That is why it is approved to be taken up to five days after ‘unprotected’ intercourse. It’s no surprise regarding their strategy.”
Abortion enthusiasts have long pushed over the counter abortion despite studies that reveal unsupervised medical abortion can lead to increased maternal morbidity and mortality. It remains to be seen if Ella will eventually be available without prescription in pharmacies because of its FDA approved use as an emergency contraceptive.
Tweet This: Abortion enthusiasts have long pushed over the counter abortion despite studies revealing the dangers of unsupervised medical abortion.
McDonald explains how abortion proponents are taking advantage of blurred lines between the two drugs, “Since most healthcare professionals are currently unaware of the differences between Plan B® and RU486, introduction of ulipristal appears to be an attempt to capitalize on this confusion by modifying a known abortifacient, but marketing it as EC.”
The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists warns that over-the-counter abortion endangers women. Currently 1/25 women who take abortion drugs present in emergency departments with potentially life-threatening complications.
How is Ella different than Plan B®?
Lile states that Ella is the second version of the morning after pill and has a different mechanism of action than Plan B. It is approved to be used five days after intercourse to attempt to stop a pregnancy from occurring.
Plan B® One-Step, another type of emergency contraception, does not require a prescription and is composed of a different drug. Plan B® works in a different way than mifepristone and Ella do.
What are the risks?
Despite the immense underreporting of adverse events in the United States, the abortion pill has proven to be four times more dangerous for women than surgical abortion. Severe risks to women who take the abortion pill include hemorrhage and infection which are life-threatening.
The abortion pill is self-administered occurring in bedrooms, bathrooms, dorm rooms, workplaces, schools, airports – wherever the woman is – any hour of any day. Women do not typically have any medical oversight as they complete the abortion process, nor a trusted provider to ask questions when complications arise, or support is needed.
Lile confirms, “(Abortion pills) are dangerous for the moms as well because statistically 1% (1/100) of all pregnancies will be ectopic which is the number one pregnancy related cause of death. When women don’t have an ultrasound and aren’t assessed, neither Ella nor the abortion pill are treatments for an ectopic pregnancy.”
Symptoms of an ectopic pregnancy are not always apparent, and experts agree that an ultrasound is critical to identify if the baby is growing within the uterus or outside of the uterus.
McDonald concurs, “Whether used by an already pregnant women or if pregnancy continues after ulipristal use, there is concern for resulting ectopic pregnancies, incomplete abortions, and birth defects.”
What does this mean for preborn babies and the women?
“This is just one more way the evil is attacking the image of God in the womb,” Lile shared.
He continued, “Here’s the problem – (abortion) is killing a baby with a heart that is beating, fingers and toes, and moving around on the inside of the womb.
Pregnancy help medical clinics around the world spend time answering questions, offering support and patient education. They provide all the information needed to make an informed choice prior to a pregnancy decision. These medical clinics encourage all pregnant women to have a scan for an accurate fetal heart rate and assessment of viability, placement, and dating prior to making a pregnancy decision. Many of these essential clinics offer Abortion Pill Reversal (APR), which works to reverse the effects of the abortion pill by increasing progesterone levels.
Lile confirmed, “This is an attack against the next generation. We need to meet these women, meet their needs, provide them with support. And let them see the amazing gift of life that God has blessed them with. And celebrate that gift, not kill and destroy that gift.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network (APRN) and Pregnancy Help News. Heartbeat is currently the subject of two lawsuits brought by state AGs concerning sharing information about Abortion Pill Reversal.