The report added that "FDA has conducted a variety of monitoring activities and these have not identified significant concerns with the safety and use of Mifeprex, in accordance with its approved REMS."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph 2271 teaches that "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion" and that direct abortion "is gravely contrary to the moral law." In addition to being a mortal sin, the procurement of a completed abortion is a canonical crime carrying with it the penalty of excommunication.
In 2009, when Italy legalized the abortion pill, the president emeritus of the Pontifical Academy for Life Monsignor Elio Sgreccia said it was no different than a surgical abortion and stated that "there will be excommunication for the doctor, the woman, and anyone who encourages its use."
"First abortion was legalized to stop it being clandestine, but now doctors are washing their hands of it and transferring the burden of conscience to women," Monsignor Sgreccia said, as reported by Reuters.
Bishops in California are currently working to oppose state legislation, currently waiting for the governor's signature, that would force the state's universities to offer chemical abortions to students.
Latta's bill comes after Planned Parenthood's research arm, the Guttmacher Institute, reported an overall decline in the abortion rate to an all-time low in the U.S., with an estimated 862,000 abortions in 2017.
However, the percentage of chemical abortions in "nonhospital facilities" has gone up 25% since 2014, to a total of 339,640 abortions-39% of the overall abortion number.
Guttmacher admitted that the overall abortion decline might not be as steep as reported, in part due to unreported "self-managed abortions." Mifeprex and Misoprostol "are becoming increasingly available online, as are resources about how to safely and effectively self-manage an abortion outside of a clinical setting," the report stated.
"The industry's migration to chemical self-abortion is deeply disturbing," said Chuck Donovan, president of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life organization. He also noted that the trend could push the abortion rate back up in the future but with a "higher rate of injury" to women.
Mallory Quigley, vice president of communications for Susan B. Anthony List, said the increase in chemical abortions is part of the abortion industry's determination to profit "off the destruction of unborn children and wounding of mothers" while cutting overhead costs.
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.