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Fresh warnings have emerged in the UK and US about the dangers of abortion pills, with new data highlighting the scale of complications faced by women.
In the US, a new report by National Right to Life (NRTL) written by the group’s Director of Education and Research, Randall O’Bannon, has accused authorities and the abortion industry of underreporting the risks associated with chemical abortions.
Drawing on a review of 865,000 insurance claims, the study suggests that 11% of women who used abortion pills experienced serious medical complications such as haemorrhage or infection—far higher than the 0.5% rate acknowledged in FDA trials.
The report, named “Missed, Misclassified, and Minimised: Why Abortion Pill Complications Are Underreported,” cites factors such as women being told to disguise the effects of abortion pill use as miscarriage symptoms during hospital visits, and research practices that label significant complications as “minor.” Elsewhere the report accused the media of downplaying of women’s experiences.
Quoting the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), which advises that Ob-Gyns “should not report pregnancy outcomes unless legally compelled to do so,” the report noted: “ACOG tells health care professionals that even if a patient discloses their attempted chemical abortion ‘documenting and reporting of the information can cause harm to the patient as well as the health care professional involved in the patient’s care.’”
US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will undertake a fresh evaluation of abortion pill safety in response to these concerns.
“Women are being harmed, and the dangers are being ignored or hidden,” stated Carol Tobias, the President of NRTL.
In England, recent NHS figures revealed that over 12,000 women required hospital care over the past two years after experiencing issues linked to medical abortions.
According to the data for up to March 2025, this equates to around 1,000 women each month requiring emergency care.
Kevin Duffy, who was once Marie Stopes International Global Director of Clinics Development before becoming a pro-life advocate, has raised alarm over the findings, noting that official government abortion statistics for 2023 remain more than 10 months overdue.
Growing concerns over abortion pill safety on both sides of the Atlantic
