The Abortion Pill Could Also Be Birth Control–And Activists Are Trying to Prove It

July 25, 2022

(The Verge) – Mifepristone’s contraceptive properties aren’t actually news. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, researchers like Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Karolinska Institutet, examined the compound’s efficacy as both emergency contraception and a birth control pill. Though there was some debate over whether mifepristone worked best as a weekly or monthly contraceptive, the general consensus was that it showed great promise as a non-hormonal birth control pill. The same mechanism that it uses to halt fetal development — blocking the release of progesterone — can also be used to prevent ovulation and thin the uterine lining, making pregnancy impossible. (Read More)