Mifepristone Decision: Johns Hopkins Expert Available

Newswise — An expert from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is available for interviews to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. At question was the FDA’s approval, in 2016 and 2021, of expanded access to mifepristone – a drug that has been used in medication abortions since 1988, when it was approved for use in China and France. Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000 and is currently approved for use in more than 80 countries.

Suzanne Bell, PhD, MPH, is an assistant professor in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She studies patterns of contraceptive use, abortion, and infertility and associated disparities, primarily in the context of population-based surveys. Her research also assesses structural factors that contribute to disparities in reproductive health behaviors and outcomes.

Additionally, journalists are free to use this comment from Suzanne Bell: 

“The key thing to remember is that mifepristone has been used safely by millions of people worldwide for more than three decades. The science is clear: There is no medical justification for restricting mifepristone’s use or reversing prior FDA decisions on how and by whom mifepristone can be dispensed.”