Mifepristone for Medication Abortion Toolkit

Access to mifepristone for medication abortion and miscarriage management is at risk. As an ob-gyn, you can make a difference by speaking up about how important it is for your patients that mifepristone remain available and accessible. ACOG has prepared resources to help you amplify your expert voice as a physician, whether you’re joining the conversation online, sharing information in your community or in the exam room, or helping your patients understand their options for care.

In this Toolkit: Talking Points  |  Letters to the Editor  |  Social Media Messages and Graphics  |  Clinical Guidance  |  Resources

Talking Points

ACOG has prepared media interview talking points on mifepristone. If you’ve been contacted about participating in a media interview and need talking points, please email [email protected].

Want to get involved in ACOG’s media work? If you’re interested in speaking to news media about mifepristone or medication abortion, please email  [email protected].

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the editor in your local newspaper are a great way to share your perspective as a clinical expert and community leader. Here’s how to draft and submit a letter of your own:

• Read your local news outlet and choose a story or opinion piece to react to. Although you can write a letter about current events generally, it helps to tie your letter to the specific outlet.
• Find out about the outlet’s requirements for letters to the editor: the word count, what email address to send it to, and any other information they may require. This information is typically available on the outlet’s site; if you can’t find it, search for “[outlet name] letter to the editor policy.”
• Craft a letter. The best letters will convey your clinical expertise in a voice that is layperson friendly. When in doubt, check with a friend who’s not a doctor.
• Key messages and themes to consider:
  • Mifepristone is a safe medication that makes medication abortion more effective
  • Telehealth administration of mifepristone improves patients’ access to care, including for people who otherwise wouldn’t have access
  • Mifepristone is routinely used in miscarriage care
  • Reproductive health care is enduring an unwarranted amount of scrutiny and legislative intervention—something you don’t see in other areas of medicine
  • The patient–physician relationship should not be subject to undue government interference
• Feel free to cite statistics and clinical guidelines, but don’t get bogged down in the numbers! Letters to the editor are a quick way to make a strong point.

If you get a letter to the editor placed, let ACOG’s Public Affairs team know so that we can use it as an example!

Social Media

To help you speak out on social media, we’ve developed graphics and sample messages for you to share. Customize the sample messages below or use them as a starting point to craft your own.

Sample Messages

Mifepristone is an essential tool that I use in my practice when caring for patients experiencing miscarriage or seeking medication abortion care. Cutting off telehealth access to mifepristone puts my patients at risk. Everyone deserves access to safe, effective care, regardless of how far they live from a doctor’s office. #ObGynsInAction

As an ob-gyn, I see every day how legislative decisions affect my patients. Mifepristone is safe and essential. The government’s interference in our ability to provide the evidence-based care our patients need must end. #ObGynsInAction

Science and evidence have proven that mifepristone is safe and effective. That’s how I know that the current attempts to restrict access to this medication are part of the unwarranted and ongoing attack on abortion care. I will continue to defend my patients’ right to access evidence-based care. #ObGynsInAction

Graphics

Graphic 1

Image text: Defending reproductive health care means defending access to mifepristone.

Mifepristone is an essential part of evidence-based reproductive health care. (emphasis on essential) #ObGynsInAction

Download Graphic 1

Graphic 2

Image text: Mifepristone is safe, effective, and essential. #ObGynsInAction

Download Graphic 2

Graphic 3

Image text: Everyone deserves access to evidence-based reproductive health care, which includes mifepristone. #ObGynsInAction

Download Graphic 3

Clinical Guidance

Review clinical guidance on medication abortion to refamiliarize yourself with the evidence affirming mifepristone’s safety and efficacy and with misoprostol-only regimens.

Resources

Advocacy Resources

Advocating for access to reproductive health care for your patients can take many forms, from outreach to policy makers to conversations with neighbors and colleagues. ACOG’s Abortion Is Essential Health Care hub has the tools you need to feel prepared and confident when engaging in your community.

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Patient Education Resources

Constantly changing court decisions can be confusing for patients who want to know what the latest news means for their ability to access necessary care. Explore ACOG’s patient education resources on Every Stage Health to get equipped to discuss the importance of mifepristone and options for care with your patients.

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Connect with Legal Advisors

Concerned about what the latest Supreme Court ruling means for your practice? Get an expert legal opinion through Abortion Defense Network.

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Vot-ER

ACOG has partnered with Vot-ER, a nonpartisan nonprofit that focuses on civic engagement in health care, to help you get ready to vote and give you the tools to empower others in your community to do the same.

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