Abortion has long been a controversial issue in the United States, which was especially apparent in the overturning of Roe v. Wade – the ruling that protected the right for women to have an abortion. Now, there have been attacks on mifepristone, one of the two primary medications used for drug-induced abortions. 

The two medications used for medical abortions are mifepristone and misoprostol. Misoprostol alone is effective for causing a miscarriage, while mifepristone reduces the side effects that misoprostol may cause. 

Alliance Defending Freedom, the primary group against mifepristone, states that the drug is unsafe and that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not study it closely enough. On April 7, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas ruled in favor of Alliance Defending Freedom. 

Mifepristone, however, has been on the market for 23 years and has not been known to cause any serious or life-threatening side effects. 

The main argument of those against mifepristone is that side effects include bleeding (normally up to two weeks) and cramping, but natural miscarriages cause similar symptoms.

Considering the lack of evidence that Alliance Defending Freedom has to support their claims against mifepristone, it becomes apparent that this group’s true motive is to eventually ban abortion entirely.

Pascack Hills senior Christine Audia said, “I think [the mifepristone ban] is terrible because women all around the world should have access to reproductive healthcare and have control of their bodies.”

Banning mifepristone is one step closer to banning abortion entirely, which is a significant right that women should have. Although banning mifepristone is not equivalent to banning abortion as a whole, this ban, along with the overturning of Roe v. Wade, shows that it is certainly possible to create strong limitations on women’s reproductive rights. 

“I don’t think banning mifepristone is that bad, but I also think women should get to choose. But banning mifepristone can help people be more responsible with their choices,” an anonymous Hills junior said. 

It may be true that reducing accessibility to medication abortion will force people to be more careful with their choices, but there are many different situations where people might need to resort to mifepristone and misoprostol that are unrelated to “careless decision-making.” Regardless, people should have the freedom to make their own choices rather than radical organizations controlling such decisions.

It is important to apply “land of the free” to modern situations. If women’s reproductive rights are constantly under attack, is the United States really the land of the free?

Although the Supreme Court granted a full stay in the case, meaning mifepristone is still accessible across the country, this may be temporary as certain organizations, including Alliance Defending Freedom, are still fighting to ban the medication. 

Banning mifepristone is one piece of a much larger problem for women’s reproductive rights. Some may argue that there are certain benefits to banning this medication, but it is essential to look at the bigger picture and what this means for women’s rights in the future.