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Emergency contraception (EC) is a birth control measure, used after sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy.
Mifepristone, also known as RU-486, is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about a medical abortion during pregnancy and manage early miscarriage. This combination is 97% effective during the first 63 days of pregnancy. It is also effective in the second trimester of pregnancy. It is taken by mouth.
The Comstock Actof 1873 refers to a series of current provisions in Federal law, that generally criminalize the involvement of the United States Postal Service, its officers, or a common carrier in conveying obscene matter, crime-inciting matter, or certain abortion-related matter. The Comstock Act is largely codified across title 18 of the United States Code and was enacted beginning in 1872 with the attachment of an extraneous rider to a postal service reconsolidation bill. Amended multiple times since initial enactment, with it amended most recently in 1996, the Act is nonetheless often associated with U.S. Postal Inspector and anti-vice activist Anthony Comstock.
Misoprostol is a synthetic prostaglandin medication used to prevent and treat stomach and duodenal ulcers, induce labor, cause an abortion, and treat postpartum bleeding due to poor contraction of the uterus. It is taken by mouth when used to prevent gastric ulcers in people taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID). For abortions it is used by itself or in conjunction with mifepristone or methotrexate. By itself, effectiveness for abortion is between 66% and 90%. For labor induction or abortion, it is taken by mouth, dissolved in the mouth, or placed in the vagina. For postpartum bleeding it may also be used rectally.
A self-induced abortion is an abortion performed by the pregnant woman herself, or with the help of other, non-medical assistance. Although the term includes abortions induced outside of a clinical setting with legal, sometimes over-the-counter medication, it also refers to efforts to terminate a pregnancy through alternative, potentially more dangerous methods. Such practices may present a threat to the health of women.
Roussel Uclaf S.A. was a French pharmaceutical company and one of several predecessor companies of today's Sanofi.
Danco Laboratories is a pharmaceutical distributor located in midtown Manhattan which distributes the abortifacient drug mifepristone under the brand name Mifeprex. Mifeprex is the only drug distributed by Danco, although the company plans to expand to other drugs in the future.
Jennifer Walker Elrod is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit since 2007. She previously served as a state court judge on the 190th District Court of Texas from 2002 to 2007.
Women on Web (WoW) is a Canadian non-profit organization that aims to increase access to safe abortion known for its online abortion service accessible in multiple countries. The organization was founded by Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, a Dutch physician, in 2005.
Thomas Owen Rice is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Corcept Therapeutics Inc. is a pharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of severe metabolic, psychiatric and oncologic disorders. Corcept has focused on the adverse effects of excess cortisol, studying new compounds that may mitigate those effects. Its executive team is headed by CEO, president and director Joseph K. Belanoff, MD.
A medical abortion, also known as medication abortion or non-surgical abortion, occurs when drugs (medication) are used to bring about an abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions such as vacuum aspiration or dilation and curettage. Medical abortions are more common than surgical abortions in most places around the world.
Anordrin, also known as 2α,17α-diethynyl-A-nor-5α-androstane-2β,17β-diol dipropionate, is a synthetic, steroidal selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM) which is used in China as an emergency contraceptive. It is the most commonly used emergency contraceptive in China. The drug is marketed in a combination formulation with mifepristone under the brand name Zi Yun. Anordrin has not been studied for use or marketed outside of China. It has been used in China since the 1970s.
Matthew Joseph Kacsmaryk is a United States district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. He was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump in 2017 and sworn in for the position in 2019.
Aid Access is a nonprofit organization that provides access to medication abortion by mail to the United States and worldwide. It describes its work as a harm reduction strategy designed to provide safe access to mifepristone and misoprostol for those able to become pregnant in the United States who may not otherwise have access to abortion or miscarriage management services. People are able to manage their own abortion with remote access to a physician and a help-desk for any questions. The website is available in English, Spanish, and Dutch.
As of 2024, abortion is illegal in Indiana. It is only legal in cases involving fatal fetal abnormalities, to preserve the life and physical health of the mother, and in cases of rape or incest up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. Previously abortion in Indiana was legal up to 20 weeks; a near-total ban that was scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2023, was placed on hold due to further legal challenges, but is set to take place, after the Indiana Supreme Court denied an appeal by the ACLU, and once it certifies a previous ruling that an abortion ban doesn't violate the state constitution. In the wake of the 2022 Dobbs Supreme Court ruling, abortion in Indiana remained legal despite Indiana lawmakers voting in favor of a near-total abortion ban on August 5, 2022. Governor Eric Holcomb signed this bill into law the same day. The new law became effective on September 15, 2022. However, on September 22, 2022, Special Judge Kelsey B. Hanlon of the Monroe County Circuit Court granted a preliminary injunction against the enforcement of the ban. Her ruling allows the state's previous abortion law, which allows abortions up to 20 weeks after fertilization with exceptions for rape and incest, to remain in effect.
Abortion Dream Team is an abortion rights group in Poland. Headquartered in Warsaw, ADT was founded in October 2016. Volunteers with the group accept questions from women seeking abortion, and conduct workshops about how to administer mifepristone and misoprostol, a combination of drugs used in medical abortion.
Plan C is a non-profit organization and campaign that provides educational resources and information to increase access to medication abortion in the United States. It was founded in 2015 by Francine Coeytaux, Elisa Wells, and Amy Merrill as a project under the fiscal sponsorship of the National Women's Health Network.
Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, 602 U.S. ___ (2024), was a United States Supreme Court case to challenge the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s approval of mifepristone, a drug frequently used in medical abortion procedures. The plaintiffs, led by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), argued that the FDA did not properly approve the use of the drug mifepristone for pregnancy termination under Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act regulations and asked for an injunction to withdraw the drug's approval, thus removing it from the market. AHM's suit followed the Supreme Court's ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022, which reversed Roe v. Wade and asserted there was no constitutional right to abortion at the federal level, leading conservative states and groups to further restrict abortion access.
Exelgyn is a French pharmaceutical company which makes and distributes the medical abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol.
References
- "Abortion Pill Maker Sues F.D.A. to Protect Drug if a Court Orders It Off the Market" By Pam Belluck April 19, 2023 New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/19/health/abortion-pill-genbiopro-mifepristone.html</ref>