Misoprostol, used for early pregnancy termination, is displayed in a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, May 12, 2022.
George Frey | Reuters
New York and California are stockpiling large quantities of alternative abortion pills in case a federal judge’s order suspending the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the main drug mifepristone takes effect later this week.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday ordered the state health department to immediately begin purchasing 150,000 doses. misoprostol, enough medicine for 5 years. Hochul’s announcement came a day after Governor Gavin Newsom said California has secured 2 million pills of misoprostol.
Medical abortion is the most common way to end a pregnancy. U.S. patients typically use a two-drug regimen, where mifepristone is given first, followed by misoprostol. The second pill is used as a stand-alone abortion pill in many parts of the world.
Misoprostol is FDA-approved to treat stomach ulcers, so it will still be marketed if U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk order to suspend mifepristone effective at 12 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.
“A judge in Amarillo, Texas thinks he knows better than thousands of doctors, scientists, and experts. And not to mention the countless women who have used this drug safely for decades,” he said. Hochul said during a press conference with Planned Parenthood in New York Tuesday.
“This is not just an attack on abortion, it’s an attack on democracy. The courts have never revoked the FDA’s science-based decision,” the governor said.
Hochul said she is working with the New York legislature to require private insurance companies to cover misoprostol when the drug is prescribed off-label for abortions.
The Department of Justice and Danco Laboratories, the distributor of mifepristone, requested US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to block Kacsmaryk . ruling until noon on Thursday.
The World Health Organization and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend misoprostol as a stand-alone abortion drug when a dual-drug regimen is not available. But misoprostol is not as effective as when taken alone, According to obstetricians and gynecologists.
The FDA has approved a two-drug abortion regimen until the 10th week of pregnancy. Mifepristone prevents further fetal growth by blocking a hormone called progesterone. Misoprostol causes contractions to empty the uterus.
Patients take 200 milligrams of mifepristone on the first day, then 800 micrograms of misoprostol in their cheek pouches 24 to 48 hours later, according to the FDA label.
