Emergency contraceptives and medical abortion medications have nearly vanished from pharmacy shelves in Russia, following the government’s stringent regulations on mifepristone-containing drugs, as reported by the investigative outlet Vyorstka on Wednesday.
The new regulations from the Health Ministry, enacted during a nationwide demographic crisis marked by unprecedented low birth rates, have significantly limited public access to various contraceptive options.
With the introduction of these guidelines, effective from September 2024, mifepristone has been categorized under the official List of Regulated Substances in the country, placing it alongside potent hormonal and psychotropic medications.
Now, patients are required to provide a special prescription document that is usually designated for highly regulated substances in order to acquire the medication. Furthermore, pharmacies must record each transaction involving mifepristone and report these to the federal medical oversight body, Roszdravnadzor.
Two commonly used emergency contraceptives containing mifepristone, Jenale and Ginepriston, have completely disappeared from pharmacies, according to Vyorstka.
Online searches for major pharmacy networks—including Gorzdrav, Eapteka, and Apteki.ru—indicate that there are no mifepristone-based products available. Rigla, one of the largest pharmacy chains, lists these medications but shows them as unavailable.
Representatives from six major pharmacy chains confirmed to Vyorstka the nationwide shortage of mifepristone but could not clarify the reasons for the disruption or provide an estimated timeline for when supplies might be restored.
Mifepristone serves as the active ingredient in several essential reproductive health treatments. A 10-milligram dosage is often prescribed for emergency contraception, whereas the 200-milligram dosage is used for medical abortions and has traditionally been restricted to hospital environments, where it is administered under professional supervision.
The issue of supply appears to go beyond just retail problems. In March, the business newspaper Kommersant reported a one-third drop in shipments of mifepristone and misoprostol, another medication used for medical abortions, to Russian hospitals in 2024.
Data from the pharmaceutical sector provided by RNC Pharma and mentioned in Kommersant indicates that only 636,300 packages were supplied to medical facilities this year, a decline from 938,000 in 2023. Analysts suggest that this reflects the lowest consumption rates ever recorded.
