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Fifty-One Percent

51%

25 years of mifepristone

By Jesse King,

Samantha Simmons

Published October 2, 2025 at 8:00 PM EDT

FILE - Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., March 16, 2022. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Sunday, April 9, 2023, stressed that women for now continue to have access to the abortion medication mifepristone after the Texas judge stayed his ruling for a week so federal authorities could file a challenge. The drug was approved by the FDA in 2000. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File) — Boxes of the drug mifepristone

On this week’s 51%, we recognize the 25th anniversary of the Food & Drug Administration’s approval of mifepristone, which, in conjunction with misoprostol, is now used for the majority of abortions in the U.S. WAMC’s Samantha Simmons speaks with abortion-rights advocate and vlogger Marissa Rudd about her experience using mifepristone, and why she personally chose to have an abortion. We also chat with Kimberly Mutcherson, a professor at Rutgers Law School, about the challenges mifepristone faces in court and in the Trump Administration.

Guests: Marissa Rudd, founder of For the Family; Kimberly Mutcherson, professor of law at Rutgers Law School

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio in Albany, New York. Jesse King is our producer and host. Our associate producer is Madeleine Reynolds, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue. This episode also contains the track "Butterfly" by Kate Kody.

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51% Mifepristone Food and Drug Administration Trump administration

Jesse King

Jesse King is the host of WAMC's national program on women's issues, "51%," and the station's bureau chief in the Hudson Valley. She has also produced episodes of the WAMC podcast "A New York Minute In History."

See stories by Jesse King

Samantha Simmons

Samantha joined the WAMC staff in 2023 after graduating from the University at Albany. She covers the City of Troy and Rensselaer County at large. Outside of reporting, she hosts WAMC's Weekend Edition and Midday Magazine.

She can be reached by phone at (518)-465-5233 Ext. 211 or by email at ssimmons@wamc.org.

See stories by Samantha Simmons

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