About three-fourths of abortions committed in North Carolina are by chemicals.
Propagandists for the abortion industry claim mifepristone is “safer than Tylenol.” Really? This drug is 99.9% fatal to the unborn child. It is many times more dangerous to the mother than a surgical abortion. Why is that so? What is the evidence? There is also substantial evidence that mifepristone carries a significant risk of breast cancer later in life for women who take it.
North Carolina law requires that mifepristone be given in person by the doctor who examined the woman, including an ultrasound. The doctor is then to go over what is necessary for informed consent and the lack of coercion. Without these procedures there is no way to proceed safely.
In 1994 pro-abortion Governor Jim Hunt’s DHHS ruled that every clinic abortion must be preceded by an ultrasound to see if the woman is actually pregnant and whether the embryo is in the uterus (good) or in the fallopian tube (bad). The unborn child cannot survive an ectopic pregnancy in the fallopian tube. If the issue is not resolved promptly the mother’s life will be in serious danger. In 2016 Planned Parenthood publicly stated that it required ultrasounds before every abortion. Planned Parenthood’s tune changed in 2022 after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
While 69% of reported abortions performed in North Carolina are chemical abortions, the real number of chemical abortions is unknown. Many of the chemical abortions are “self-managed” and facilitated by out-of-state/overseas doctors or pure profiteers. Many are from Eastern Europe or India. The results would be what you expect. No examination, improper or non-existing consent, no ultrasound to rule out an ectopic pregnancy, and no accountability when things go wrong.
A recent review of private medical insurance data determined that more than 1 in 10 women who take mifepristone suffer a serious adverse event. The rate of serious adverse events such as sepsis, infection and hemorrhage is at least 22 times higher than what the FDA and manufacturer boast. Another study released in May 2025 suggested the number of serious complications that result from abortion could be higher than estimated after researchers found that the number of post-abortion emergency room visits that were misclassified as miscarriages has increased significantly over the last decade. As the pro-abortion Society of Family Planning most recent #WeCount report states, abortion rates have increased following the overturning of Roe v. Wade even in states that protect unborn children.
Why? In 2021, the Biden FDA stripped away the in-person dispensing rule for mifepristone. Biden’s FDA made these high-risk drugs available by mail without any interaction with a doctor to evaluate whether the woman is even pregnant, the gestational age of her baby, if she is ordering the drugs willingly, whether the recipient is an abuser, and even without the necessary blood test to prevent serious problems in subsequent pregnancy.
This practice facilitates coercion by “boyfriends.” Yes, men can order the pills and administer them either by deceit or by coercion.
In October 2023 Rosalie, of Louisiana, took a pregnancy test. “When I took the test I immediately saw the line. The first thing I did was just smile,” she said. This turned into a nightmare for Rosalie. “He told me that he actually did not want to keep the child,” Rosalie said. When Rosalie insisted on raising her child, her “boyfriend” grew furious and eventually ordered abortion drugs by mail from a “doctor” in California. “I want it. He did not.” Rosalie’s “boyfriend” got angry and things became very scary for her. He had a criminal record, and she had been a victim of domestic abuse before. She was “terrified” and felt coerced into taking the drugs. Despite efforts to vomit the drugs and save her baby, Rosalie saw blood and knew her chances of saving her baby were slim. Abortion drugs killed Rosalie’s child. If Biden’s FDA had not removed in-person dispensing, her “boyfriend” would not have been able to obtain abortion drugs and “pressure me to take them against my will,” Rosalie said.
Recent data from Louisiana showed that the state saw more mail-order abortions in 2024 (7,510) than the total clinic-provided abortions in 2020 (7,143) and 2021 (7,444).
Complications from this drug are vastly underreported. Studies are becoming more readily available to illuminate the true number of complications and adverse effects that arise from the use of the abortion pill. In September 2025, Randal K. O’Bannon, Ph.D., National Right to Life Director of Education and Research wrote, “Independent research demonstrates that complications from the abortion drug mifepristone occur at far higher rates than abortion advocates and the media typically report. While abortion industry studies claim serious complications occur in less than 1/2 of 1% of cases, a major 2024 analysis of over 865,000 insurance claims found serious adverse events—hemorrhage, infection, failed abortions, and surgical follow-up—occurred in about 11% of women.”
Recent research from the People’s Republic of China suggests that mifepristone is associated with the future development of breast cancer in the mother. In general statistics from the PRC are notoriously manipulated by the government. On this issue there would be no ideological reason for the government to manipulate, Mifepristone has been used widely in China for 20 years. Preliminary analysis of the results is that prior use twice of mifepristone renders the mother seven times more likely to develop breast cancer than a woman with one or no prior abortions. More research is needed. If this association is proved to be causal then even extreme feminists and liberal politicians will rue the day they pushed mifepristone on millions of unsuspecting women.
Jessica Grabowski, a researcher for NC Right to Life, provided much of this information in the Fall 2025 edition of The Concept.
Paul Stam served 16 years in the North Carolina House, the last 10 as Minority Leader, Majority Leader and Speaker Pro Tem.
