Full Breakdown
Restricting Abortion Medications Limits Treatment Options for Uterine Fibroids and Endometriosis
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event
Anti-abortion groups have intensified efforts to limit the availability of mifepristone and the emergency-contraceptive drug ulipristal (marketed as Ella) in the United States. While both medicines have been approved for terminating pregnancy for more than 25 years, they are also documented to shrink uterine fibroids and relieve symptoms of endometriosis. Recent legal actions by Louisiana, Texas and Florida, along with a Trump-administration review, are creating regulatory barriers that prevent clinicians from prescribing these drugs for non-abortion indications.
Historical Use of the Drugs for Non-Abortion Conditions
Mifepristone and ulipristal have a long safety record in reproductive health. International studies, particularly from China and India, have shown that the drugs can reduce fibroid size by up to 50 percent and lessen bleeding and pain associated with endometriosis. Researchers in the United States have highlighted the same mechanisms—blocking progesterone to inhibit tissue growth—as a non-invasive alternative to surgical interventions such as hysterectomy.
Prevalence and Treatment Landscape
Fibroids affect roughly 70 percent of white women and more than 80 percent of Black women by age 50, often causing severe pain, heavy bleeding and infertility. Endometriosis, characterized by uterine-like tissue growing outside the uterus, similarly leads to chronic pelvic pain and fatigue. In the United States, the average wait before a woman receives treatment for fibroids exceeds three years, and many existing therapies involve invasive surgery.
Patient Experiences Amid Access Barriers
Deja Cradle, a woman from Springfield, Massachusetts, described decades of debilitating menstrual cramps and nausea before receiving a fibroid diagnosis after multiple emergency-room visits. She and other patients such as Danielle Shoback, who suffered from endometriosis for over 20 years, turned to online research after clinicians dismissed their symptoms. Shoback eventually accessed mifepristone through a telemedicine service and reported significant improvement, describing the medication as life-changing.
Official and Medical Community Responses
Dr. Abby Liberty, an OB-GYN and researcher at Oregon Health & Science University, explained that the two drugs work by blocking progesterone signals, which can shrink fibroids and make any required surgery less extensive. She warned that U.S. regulatory “red tape” and political framing risk leaving the country behind in women’s-health innovation. Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, a Dutch physician who facilitates global access to abortion medication, emphasized that the drugs are safe, especially for younger women, and that restricting them would increase disease burden and mortality among women.
Potential Consequences for Women’s Health
Medical experts argue that limiting access to mifepristone and ulipristal removes a proven, non-surgical treatment option for conditions that affect a majority of women of reproductive age. The inability to use these drugs could lead to higher rates of invasive surgeries, longer recovery times, and increased overall disease burden.
What’s Next
The PBS NewsHour series will continue with a follow-up report examining ongoing research into additional therapeutic uses of these medications, including potential cancer-prevention applications, and how current policy constraints may affect that work.