Author: Carrie N. Baker

Carrie N. Baker, J.D., Ph.D., is the Sylvia Dlugasch Bauman professor of American Studies and the chair of the Program for the Study of Women and Gender at Smith College. She is a contributing editor at Ms. magazine. Read her latest book at Abortion Pills: U.S. History and Politics (Amherst College Press, December 2024). You can contact Dr. Baker at cbaker@msmagazine.com or follow her on Bluesky @carrienbaker.bsky.social.

Biotech CEOs to FDA: Don’t Let Politics Override Science on Abortion Pill

Fifty-three biotechnology industry leaders and investors representing dozens of companies and organizations issued a letter late last month advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Follow the science on mifepristone, not political ideology.

The Biotech CEO Sisterhood initiated the letter, with Grace Colón as lead author and dozens of senior biotechnology leaders signed on in support. “We are urging the agency and the department to continue to follow the science,” said Colón, who warned that political interference in drug regulation undermines both public trust and the FDA’s authority.

If Trump Restricts Mifepristone, Clinicians Are Ready to Pivot to Misoprostol-Only Abortions

For decades, clinicians relied on the gold standard of medication abortion care: a two-pill regimen. Mifepristone is taken first, followed by misoprostol 24 to 48 hours later.

However, misoprostol can be used alone for abortion. Recent research on patients in the U.S. confirms that misoprostol-only abortion is not only safe and effective, but that patients respond positively to using it.

In light of the FDA’s recent decision to reopen its safety review of mifepristone—a move advocates warn may lead to new restrictions—abortion providers say they are ready to offer the misoprostol-only regimen to keep telehealth abortion available in all 50 states.

“Despite decades of medical evidence supporting the safety of mifepristone, it is entirely possible that Trump’s FDA could ignore the data and impose further restrictions on mifepristone, including a return to in-person dispensing requirements,” said Elisa Wells, co-founder and access director of Plan C, an abortion pill information and advocacy campaign. “If this happens, we know that many providers would pivot to a misoprostol-only regimen, which is also safe and effective.”

Idahoans Launch Ballot Initiative to Safeguard Reproductive Rights

On Saturday, June 28, hundreds of reproductive freedom advocates gathered on the steps of the Idaho State Capitol for the “Rise & Sign Rally” to support a citizen-led initiative to put the Reproductive Freedom & Privacy Act on the November 2026 ballot. The law would restore the right to abortion, ensure access to healthcare care in cases of pregnancy complications or emergencies, and safeguard birth control, emergency contraception and IVF in Idaho. 

“Today’s rally is just the beginning,” said Melanie Folwell, executive director of Idahoans United for Women and Families, which organized the rally to launch a statewide grassroots campaign to collect signatures needed to put the Reproductive Freedom & Privacy Act on the ballot. “Across the state, Idahoans are ready to rise, sign, and take back the right to make deeply personal medical decisions without interference from politicians.”

‘Behind Every Ban Is a Body’: Idaho Activists Bring Abortion Truths to NYC Theater

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On June 2, a new play, One Body: Dispatches from Idaho, brought the harrowing reality of Idaho’s abortion ban to the New York City stage. Performed at Theater 555 in midtown Manhattan, the one-woman show explores the devastating consequences of Idaho’s extreme abortion ban, drawing on over 30 interviews with women, doctors, lawmakers and activists.

“With One Body, we’re not just telling stories; we’re building infrastructure for change,” said Jen Jackson Quintano, an abortion activist and co-writer of the play. “By placing rural Idahoans’ experiences front and center—elevating stories too often silenced—we not only humanize the stakes of reproductive rights, we create a blueprint for community-centered activism that can travel anywhere.”

Organizers hope to spark momentum—and raise funds—for a nationwide tour and an off‑Broadway production of One Body in the future.

Plan C’s Road Trip Takes Abortion Access to the People

For the second year in a row, Plan C, the intrepid grassroots campaign for abortion pill access, is hitting the road on a cross-country trip to spread the word about abortion pills: that they are safe, effective and available to everyone, everywhere.

Plan C is teaming up with grassroots organizers in all 50 states, Guam and Puerto Rico to share abortion pill information through “pop-ups, panels, performances, and bold community activations centered on truth, agency, and access.”

Illinois Lawmakers Pursue Creative Path to Protect Mifepristone Access—Even if FDA Revokes Approval

While antiabortion extremists work to eliminate mifepristone from the shelves—and the FDA faces mounting antiabortion political pressure to revoke its approval—Illinois lawmakers are fighting back with a legal firewall: a first-of-its-kind bill to keep abortion pills on the market, even if the Trump administration bans them.

The Illinois General Assembly has passed HB 3637, legislation allowing clinicians to prescribe drugs removed from the FDA’s approved list—as long as the World Health Organization still recommends them. Under the bill, Illinois clinicians could continue prescribing and dispensing the abortion medication mifepristone—even if the Trump administration rolls back the FDA’s longstanding approval of the medication. The legislation now awaits the signature of Illinois Governor J.D. Pritzker.

Four States Urge FDA to Follow Science and Remove Abortion Pill Restrictions

Attorneys general of four states—Massachusetts, California, New Jersey and New York—asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday, June 5, to lift long-standing restrictions on the medication mifepristone. The drug is used in approximately two-thirds of abortions in the United States.

The petition came just three days after the FDA commissioner Marty Makary announced his decision to “review” the agency’s regulation of mifepristone after previously stating he had no plans to restrict the medication.

“Given mifepristone’s 25-year safety record, there is simply no scientific or medical reason to subject it to such extraordinary restrictions,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “New Yorkers, and all Americans, deserve access to this safe, effective and essential medication without burdensome, unjustified restrictions. The FDA must follow the science and lift these unnecessary barriers that put patients at risk and push providers out of care.”

Rest in Power: Étienne-Émile Baulieu, Abortion Pill Inventor and Women’s Rights Advocate 

Millions of women around the world gained safety, dignity and autonomy over their bodies thanks to Étienne-Émile Baulieu. The visionary biochemist, feminist and fearless innovator—best known for developing and championing “RU 486,” now known as mifepristone—died at his Paris home on May 30 at the age of 98.

Mifepristone has saved countless lives and offered millions of women a way to end unwanted pregnancies in the privacy and comfort of their homes. Baulieu and others championed the development of mifepristone for uses beyond abortion—including for treatment of fibroids, endometriosis, postpartum depression and cancer. He supported its use in managing miscarriages and as a way to help to dilate the cervix to reduce the need for Caesarean births. His vision for mifepristone wasn’t just to end pregnancies but to protect women’s health and reduce medical intervention that too often harmed them.

He predicted in 1991: “RU-486 will make its American entrance: science, good sense, and freedom will triumph.”

And here’s his view on why there has been tremendous opposition to abortion pills from the antiabortion movement: “A method that makes the termination of pregnancy less physically traumatic for women and less risky to their health has always been rejected by pro-lifers: What they really seek is to harm and punish women.”