WHO adds abortion to list of essential medicines, removes all restrictions
WHO emblem
On September 5, 2025, the World Health Organization released the updated 24th edition of its Model Lists of Essential Medicines, which now includes abortion drugs without any restrictions.
The Expert Committee recommended moving mifepristone-misoprostol from the complememtary to the core list of the EML, and removal of the note that states that close medical supervision is required, on the basis of the strong evidence presented that close medical supervision is not required for its safe and effective use
For the first time, the document does not contain the qualification that such drugs may only be used where abortion is legal or culturally acceptable. According to WHO, medical abortion is presented as a universal treatment, “necessary everywhere and for everyone.” The new list includes mifepristone and misoprostol – the two most commonly used medications for terminating pregnancy.
Critics, however, call the organization’s decision radical and dangerous. Behind the medical terminology, they argue, lies a logic that equates the unborn child with a disease – while at the same time exposing women to serious risks.
Dr. Ingrid Skop, Vice President of the Charlotte Lozier Institute, notes that medical abortion is accompanied by complications four times more often than surgical abortion: one in five women faces negative consequences, and one in twenty requires emergency intervention.
Human rights advocates are convinced that by adding abortion drugs to the list of essential medicines, WHO has effectively legitimized the “culture of death” on a global scale, betraying its own mission to protect life and health.
It is worth noting that some countries, including the United States under Donald Trump, had already reduced funding for the organization because of such policies. Nevertheless, many states continue to support WHO despite its new course.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that WHO stated that years of war have had a serious impact on the health of Ukraine’s population.
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