by Guy Page
Three days after the Vermont Legislature gave immunity to nurses who prescribe abortion-inducing drugs based on information provided in a questionnaire, a new study revealed that mifepristone, the drug used in most chemical abortions, has a significantly higher complication rate than the abortion industry and government agencies have long reported.
The Senate passed S.28 Friday, April 25. It now goes to Gov. Scott for his signature. State law provides the state Medical Board may “revoke, suspend, or otherwise discipline” nurses for various infractions. In addition to restricting pregnancy resource center advertising and withholding information about fetal deaths, S.28 would exempt from any such action advanced practice registered nurses “prescribing medication for an individual to terminate the individual’s pregnancy based on an adaptive questionnaire.”
According to the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) study, based on insurance claim data from 865,727 mifepristone abortions performed between 2017 and 2023, 10.93% of women experienced serious complications — including sepsis, infection, hemorrhage, hospitalization, or other events qualifying as “serious adverse reactions.”
The Legislature has willfully overlooked the severe health consequences of mifepristone, despite testimony about its hazards, Vermont Right to Life executive director Mary Beerworth said.
“The current majority in the legislature has demonstrated a callous disregard for young girls and women by allowing these dangerous abortion drugs to be prescribed by a mere online chat rather than an in-person visit with a medical provider,” Beerworth said. “Committee members of the House and Senate heard testimony from both Vermont Right to Life, as well as the Vermont Medical Practice Board, that should have raised caution flags. However, it has become the pattern over the past several years for pro-abortion legislators to prioritize Planned Parenthood’s wish list before any other issue confronting Vermonters.”
Beerworth did not exempt Governor Phil Scott from criticism. “The Governor also has a track record of saying ‘how high’ when the abortion giant says ‘jump.’ Expect Scott to sign the bill,” she said.
The EPPC study figure is far greater than the less than 0.5% serious complication rate frequently cited from FDA-approved clinical trials, a statement by National Right to Life said.
“Every time pro-lifers want to challenge safety claims made about the abortion pill mifepristone, abortion advocates and their loyal media allies like to quote the claim of the drug’s official label from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that clinical studies showed ‘serious adverse reactions were reported in <0.5% of women,’” said Randall K. O’Bannon, Ph.D., director of Education and Research at National Right to Life. “New data taken from the field show figures are twenty-two times that.”
The research, conducted by Jamie Bryan Hall and Ryan T. Anderson of EPPC, drew from a broad spectrum of real-world insurance claims, suggesting the findings more accurately reflect the risks women face today.
O’Bannon emphasized the importance of the findings, noting that women are often not fully informed about the risks associated with chemical abortions. “Women are told that the complication rate for chemical abortions is minimal, but hemorrhage, infection, and failure to identify rupturing ectopic pregnancies are the realities,” he said. He also pointed out that tracking complications became significantly more difficult after a 2016 FDA decision requiring only the reporting of deaths — not all serious complications — associated with mifepristone use.
The full EPPC report, titled The Abortion Pill Harms Women, is available here.