While “pro-life” Republicans are pushing for the FDA to pull approval for abortion pill Mifepristone, they may simply be complicating medical abortions for all women needing the procedure.

Texas federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s attempt to block the FDA’s approval of Mifepristone doesn’t outlaw abortion, and it doesn’t prevent women from seeking it in states where it’s still legal or necessary for life-saving measures.

It simply removes one relatively safe and painless method from the toolkit of medical professionals.

So now, the abortions that would have taken place still will, but they’ll require a more painful procedure or will rely on an Misoprostol-only regimen, which may be less effective and cause more complications.

Dr Kristyn Brandi, and OBGYN who works as board chair of Physicians Reproductive Health, told Salon recently, “We’re already talking about switching over to Misoprostol-only regimens.”

Usually, a patient would start an abortive procedure by taking Mifepristone, which causes the pregnancy to stop developing. Then they would take Misoprostol which expels it.

Brandi explains that Misoprostol-only abortions are “incredibly safe and effective” but “not our first choice.” Because they come with more side effects. “It causes people to feel really crampy and uncomfortable. It can cause people to throw up and have fevers.” It’s also more likely to result in an incomplete abortion, which would require more care.

So it wouldn’t stop abortions – it would just increase suffering.