The French Minister of Health orders Roussel Uclaf to return the drug to the market, calling it the moral property of women. In response to pressure from the Bush administration and anti-choice members of Congress, the FDA bans the importation of mifepristone for personal use. Hoechst informs abortion opponents that it does not intend to market or distribute mifepristone outside of France. 1990 Leading scientists testify before Congress that the FDA import ban has hindered research on the broad medical benefits of mifepristone, including as a treatment for breast cancer. July 1991 Mifepristone is approved as an early option for nonsurgical abortion in the United Kingdom.
Mifepristone is approved as an early option for nonsurgical abortion in Sweden.
An American woman, Leona Benten, issues the first direct challenge to the FDA import alert when she returns from Europe with mifepristone. U.S. Customs officials seize the drug when Benten arrives. The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear her case or to order the FDA to overturn the import ban. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that mifepristone is a safe and effective emergency contraceptive. January 1993 President Clinton issues an Executive Order directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to instruct the FDA to re-evaluate the mifepristone import ban and to assess ways to promote the testing, licensing, and manufacturing of mifepristone.