A new ruling could make abortions much harder to access

Plus more health news | Email not displaying correctly? [View it in your browser.]( [Health Matters]( [What the Texas abortion pill ruling could mean for people seeking care]( By Haley Weiss Health Reporter Moments before the holiday weekend, a federal judge in Texas delivered a long-awaited ruling with an unprecedented (and, to health experts, baseless) conclusion: that mifepristone, a drug used in more than half of all abortions performed in the U.S., had not been properly approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 23 years ago. The temporary withdrawal of the drug, expected to go into effect on Apr. 14 if no legal challenges succeed in the days beforehand, would immediately take the most commonly used abortion method off the table for women across the country. Here's what experts are saying about how the ruling—if it withstands legal challenges—would affect abortions. They may get more painful: In medication abortions, mifepristone is paired with another drug called misoprostol. Using just misoprostol would likely mean more cramping and bleeding. Less effective: One study this year found that misoprostol-only abortions were only 88% effective, while the two-drug regimen is effective nearly 100% of the time. And more constricted: A single-drug regimen could have a narrower window of use, since there's no established protocol for it in the U.S.. [READ MORE]( Share This Story What Else to Read [Health Secretary Slams Abortion Pill Ruling as ‘Not America’]( By HOPE YEN / AP “We want the courts to overturn this reckless decision,” said President Joe Biden's health secretary Xavier Becerra. [Read More »]( [How to Be Mindful if You Hate Meditating]( By Angela Haupt Put a puzzle together or listen to music. [Read More »]( [These Factors Increase the Risk of Kidney Cancer]( By Markham Heid Hypertension, obesity, hereditary risk factors, and chemical exposures can all play a role. [Read More »]( [Here’s What the 1870s Comstock Act Has to Do With Abortion Pills]( By MATTHEW PERRONE / AP The Comstock Act has been revived by anti-abortion groups and conservatives seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone. [Read More »]( [Do Massages Have Real Health Benefits?]( By Markham Heid The perks of a good massage are more than skin deep. (Originally published in 2018.) [Read More »]( ONE LAST READ [How COVID-19 made virus hunters more risk-averse]( The last two decades have seen an expansion of research into novel pathogens. Along with researchers looking for new diseases in the wild, thousands of biocontainment labs around the world now handle potentially deadly viruses and bacteria. But the emergence of COVID-19—and the possibility that it may have escaped from a lab—is leading to a rethinking of the entire field, report David Willman and Joby Warrick in the Washington Post. [Read More »]( --------------------------------------------------------------- If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, [click here](. Today's newsletter was written by Haley Weiss and Jeffrey Kluger, and edited by Mandy Oaklander. [Want more from TIME? Sign up for our other newsletters.]( [Subscribe to TIME]( TIME may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Connect with TIME via [Facebook]( | [Twitter]( | [Newsletters]( [UNSUBSCRIBE]( [PRIVACY POLICY]( [YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS]( TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508, Boone, IA 50037-0508 Questions? Contact health@time.com Copyright © 2023 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved.