Although Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson vowed to review the safety of mifepristone, the early abortion pill will likely be difficult to remove from the market, says the Wall Street Journal. The Bush administration cannot remove mifepristone from the market unless it is proven to be unsafe or ineffective. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone on September 28,2000 after ruling it to be safe and effective in September 1996 and reaffirming the drug’s safety in February 2000. The FDA’s ruling was based on extensive clinical trials and massive European and US data. The WSJ predicts “public outcry” if the drug were removed from the market. Nonetheless, the WSJ says several actions that the Bush administration could attempt to restrict or ban the drug remain.
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