Abortion Pill Harms Women: New Study Demands Urgent Legislative Rethink for Australia
The abortion pill is presented to women by the pro-abortion industry as a safe, simple, and convenient solution to an unplanned pregnancy—something that can be taken privately at home. However, shocking new evidence is challenging this narrative.
A groundbreaking new study from the United States, the largest of its kind, has highlighted serious real-world risks associated with chemical (or medical) abortion.[i] The implications for Australia, and particularly for Queensland, are devastating.
So, What Is A Chemical Abortion?
Chemical abortion, also referred to as medical abortion, involves a two-step pharmaceutical process intended to abort a child up to the first 9 weeks of pregnancy. In Australia, this regimen is marketed as MS-2 Step.
- First, the woman takes mifepristone, a drug that blocks progesterone, a hormone essential to sustaining pregnancy.
- Then 24 to 48 hours later, she takes misoprostol – the second drug, which causes uterine cramping and contractions to expel the baby.[ii]
This process can take hours or days and almost always happens at home, without direct medical supervision. Women may experience intense pain, heavy bleeding and emotional trauma.[iii]
Shocking US Findings: 1 In 10 Experience Severe Harm
A newly published U.S. study conducted by the Ethics and Public Policy Centre has exposed the real-world dangers of the abortion pill, and its findings have been devastating:[iv]
- The study analysed 865,727 women who had chemical abortions between 2017 and 2023, and found that 10.93% of women experienced sepsis, haemorrhaging, infection, or other serious complications within 45 days of taking the medication.[v]
- That is just over 1 in 10 women facing serious harm.[vi]
- The complication rate is 22 times higher than what is reported in clinical trials or on the drugs label.[vii]
- The researchers of this study have called on the US Food and Drug Administration to reinstate strong safety protocols and reconsider the approval of the drugs altogether.[viii]
The Narrative Women Are Sold
Women have been lied to about the effects of this pill.[ix] In Australia, complications were known by the TGA, who approved the pill to be exclusively distributed by Marie Stopes, the largest abortion provider in Australia, despite knowing that the pill killed someone in Australia in 2010.[x]
It is important to recognise that there are differences in the pharmaceutical landscapes of America and Australia, with Australia generally having more safeguards than the US when it comes to accessing these pills. However, it is also important to recognise that Australian women are being prescribed the exact same medications that have been examined in this US study, so it is safe to assume there are complications experienced by Australian women. At what rate, we do not exactly know as we have no access to data like they do in parts of the US.
This highlights one of the key problems when it comes to the distribution of abortion services in Australia. The data we have is so extremely limited due to a lack of reporting requirements. If the rate of complications in Australia was anywhere near as high as America, there isn’t even any way we could really know under the current Australian reporting requirements.
This is a women’s health issue. How can we protect women’s health if we cannot even find data on the safety of the medications we are giving them? We have no national system tracking outcomes, no reporting requirement for side effects and no public visibility into what is happening to Australian women. How can we claim a drug is safe if we refuse to monitor its effects? And why is it that the abortion industry, unlike every other area of medicine, is allowed to operate without transparency or accountability?
The NSW Bill: Making An Unsafe Drug Even Less Supervised
Very recently, the NSW Parliament passed a bill that allows nurse practitioners and endorsed midwives to prescribe the abortion pill.[xi] This removed the requirement for a ‘medical practitioner’ to oversee what is already a high-risk process but with this fresh information we know has the potential to have deadly effects for women.
Where Is The Outrage?
If any other medication harmed 1 in 10 women, it would be ridiculed and subjected to inquiries. Politicians would act, doctors would speak out and the media would demand answers. But when it comes to abortion, it appears that silence is the common choice. Women are being harmed in considerably large numbers, children are losing their lives and huge corporations are making millions. We cannot simply look the other way while women’s health is at risk.
What Does This Mean For Queensland?
This is not just a medical issue – it’s a woman’s health issue. Every woman deserves to know the truth and make an informed decision. Based upon the US data we now know the abortion pill is not ‘safe’. Now, there is a way to know for sure the amount of women at risk but this involves placing a data requirement amendment in the Queensland Termination of Pregnancy Act. Unfortunately, due to the gag order issued by the Crisafulli LNP Government last December, this proposal is not even able to be discussed, let alone amended.
[i] Anderson, Ryan T. & Jamie Hall. “‘The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event.” Ethics & Public Policy Center. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://eppc.org/publication/insurance-data-reveals-one-in-ten-patients-experiences-a-serious-adverse-event/
[ii] “1st Trimester Chemical Abortion – The Abortion Pill.” abortionprocedures.com. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://www.abortionprocedures.com/abortion-pill/
[iii] Bellieni, Carlo & Giuseppe Buonocore. “Abortion and Subsequent Mental Health: Review of the Literature.” Queensland Health. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://www.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/735300/c-top.pdf
[iv] Anderson, Ryan T. & Jamie Hall. “‘The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event.” Ethics & Public Policy Center. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://eppc.org/publication/insurance-data-reveals-one-in-ten-patients-experiences-a-serious-adverse-event/
[v] Anderson, Ryan T. & Jamie Hall. “‘The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event.” Ethics & Public Policy Center. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://eppc.org/publication/insurance-data-reveals-one-in-ten-patients-experiences-a-serious-adverse-event/
[vi] Anderson, Ryan T. & Jamie Hall. “‘The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event.” Ethics & Public Policy Center. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://eppc.org/publication/insurance-data-reveals-one-in-ten-patients-experiences-a-serious-adverse-event/
[vii] Anderson, Ryan T. & Jamie Hall. “‘The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event.” Ethics & Public Policy Center. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://eppc.org/publication/insurance-data-reveals-one-in-ten-patients-experiences-a-serious-adverse-event/
[viii] Anderson, Ryan T. & Jamie Hall. “‘The Abortion Pill Harms Women: Insurance Data Reveals One in Ten Patients Experiences a Serious Adverse Event.” Ethics & Public Policy Center. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://eppc.org/publication/insurance-data-reveals-one-in-ten-patients-experiences-a-serious-adverse-event/
[ix] The Life Institute. “Incredibly brave young woman shares her devastating abortion pill story.” The Life Institute. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://thelifeinstitute.net/news/2021/incredibly-brave-young-woman-shares-her-devastating-abortion-pill-story
[x] Donovan, Samantha. “Death may spark backlash against abortion drug.” ABC News. Accessed 22 May, 2025. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-03-19/ru486-death-prompts-protocol-review/3899084
[xi] Mascarenhas, Carla. “NSW parliament passes legislation expanding abortion services.” The Senior. Accessed 22 May, 2025.