U.S. FDA has delayed abortion pill safety study, Bloomberg News reports

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Published: 09 Dec. 2025, 09:44

Boxes of Mifepristone, the first pill in a medical abortion, are seen at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale, Illinois, on April 9, 2024. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed a review of safety data for the abortion drug mifepristone at Commissioner Marty Makary's request, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Makary has told agency officials to delay the safety review until after the midterm elections, the report said.

"The FDA's comprehensive scientific reviews take the time necessary to get the science right and that's what Dr. Makary is ensuring," Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had said earlier this year that the review of mifepristone is ongoing.

Mifepristone is the first pill, followed by the drug misoprostol, for medication abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, and won FDA approval in 2000.

Reuters