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The abortion pill is a drug called mifepristone (most commonly sold as the brand Mifeprex) and works by blocking the pregnancy hormone progesterone, causing a developing child to die of starvation. More than 3.7 million children have been killed by the abortion pill, and 24 women’s deaths have been recorded through 2018. The abortion pill can lead to maternal death via severe blood loss, infection, or an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy. In fact, it is four times more dangerous for women than surgical abortion.

Before watching an informational video about how the abortion pill works (available here), 45% of respondents said they supported availability of the drug, and 31% said they did not. After watching the video, the percentage of respondents who favored the drug’s availability had dropped to 39% and the percentage who opposed the drug’s availability increased to 42% — a total swing of 17 percentage points.

More women than men shifted their opinion against availability of the abortion pill, with a notable swing of 29 percentage points among suburban women. When those who changed their minds were asked an open-ended question about why, the top two responses were seeing information about prenatal development and understanding that the abortion pill works by killing a human life or a baby.

In the survey’s messaging series, respondents were asked whether individual facts about the abortion pill made them more likely or less likely to support the abortion pill. Results of this section revealed that respondents were much more likely to oppose the abortion pill based on each piece of information. For example, 54% of respondents said that the potential removal of FDA regulations, which would place women at risk of undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy and make the drug available to minors and others, would make them less likely to support the drug, while this information made only 18% of respondents more likely to support it.

Lila Rose, Founder and President of Live Action, said that the survey results are crucial to informing the pro-life movement’s next steps toward the goal of seeing the abortion pill banned in the U.S.:

“Live Action’s survey confirms that accurate medical information on the procedure and prenatal embryology shifts hearts and minds away from the abortion pill. And accurate medical information is exactly what the abortion industry doesn’t want women and the public to have. While the abortion industry plots to expand the abortion pill at the expense of children’s and women’s lives, human rights groups and medical associations are working to sound the alarm and stop the bloodshed. Every American needs to know what this deadly drug does to children and women. Live Action’s survey takes the pulse on the American public and provides a blueprint for our next steps to stop the killing and ban the drug.”

Learn more about the abortion pill by reading Live Action’s investigative report, written in consultation with the American Association of Pro-Life OB/GYNS (AAPLOG). Find survey results here.