Gynuity Health Projects has published new research in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that a double dose of ulipristal acetate (UPA), sold as an emergency contraceptive under the brand name Ella, taken in combination with the ulcer medication misoprostol, is an effective and acceptable medication abortion regimen with no reported serious adverse events.
The current recognized clinical standard for first-trimester outpatient abortion is mifepristone and misoprostol, but mifepristone is tightly restricted by the FDA. Ulipristal acetate, on the other hand, currently has no such restrictions.
Some have expressed concern that this research could endanger access to Ella in the United States, and potentially also endanger the FDA-approved over-the-counter emergency contraception Plan B, made from the synthetic hormone levonorgestrel.