Today, August 13, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration approved the application for a new abortion drug, ulipristal acetate, under the label “ella.”

    Ella is the first selective progesterone receptor modulator (SPRM) available in the United States for the indication of “emergency contraception (EC).” According to the European Medicines Agency, SPRMs block progesterone which is necessary to maintain a pregnancy. This effectively deprives the unborn child in the womb of the nutrients he or she needs to live. 

    Click here to view FDA's press release. 

    Cong. Chris Smith released the following statement about the approval of ella:

    “Rather than doing its due diligence on the impact this harmful drug will have on women and developing unborn children, the FDA has turned a blind eye to the serious dangers posed by ella. By misclassifying ella as emergency contraception, this administration has paved the way to covertly allow federal funding for abortion through Medicaid, Title X, and international family planning programs.

    “Regrettably this is no surprise coming from the administration of the abortion President.

    “Ella might even be mandated as a preventive service under Obamacare thus forcing insurance companies to cover this new abortion drug. I call on President Obama to issue an Executive Order prohibiting any federal agency from providing funding for ella or insurance coverage that includes ella.

    “The FDA is supposed to protect people from dangerous drugs and deceptive marking. Instead, today they have proven they are willing to be complicit in this abortion cover-up.  At a minimum the drug should be classified as an abortion drug. Women deserve to know that these pills they believe prevent pregnancy could actually kill their unborn child by withholding vital nutrients and effectively starving the child to death. Moreover, this drug should never have been approved without significant evidence that children who survive ella will not suffer from serous birth defects and the FDA should have insisted on adequate testing to determine the drug is safe for teenage girls.”