No.

Both mifepristone and acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, are widely used and studied drugs considered by experts to be safe and effective with hospitalization rates of less than 1%. 

Though a higher percentage of milfepristone users require hospitalization than acetaminophen users, Sen. Lankford’s usage of this to claim that a prescription drug is more dangerous than an over-the-counter drug is unsound given the considerable differences between their purposes and the populations using them. 

The fundamental differences between these drugs make any comparative claim regarding their safety “false, lacking in fair balance, or otherwise misleading,” according to FDA regulations for manufacturers. 

Considering only causally related deaths, milfepristone has a mortality rate of 0.31 deaths per 100,000 abortions–less than half the overall abortion mortality rate of 0.7 and 28 times smaller than the pregnancy-related mortality rate of those who have a live-born infant.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Oklahoma Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.

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