In 2023, nearly two-thirds of U.S. abortions were performed using medication, largely thanks to a company few have heard of: Danco Laboratories. The company’s sole product is mifepristone, half of the two-drug regimen used to induce early-pregnancy abortions. For almost 25 years, Danco’s executives kept quiet to avoid attracting the wrath of anti-abortion activists. But after Danco landed last year at the center of an ongoing Supreme Court case that threatens the availability of mifepristone, its leaders decided to speak out about the importance of access to the safe and effective abortion medication, says vice president of marketing and operations Abby Long. Danco, she says, also wants to set a precedent, defending other scientifically proven drugs from political attacks. “On its face it feels like it’s just about abortion,” Long says. “In the end it’s not.”
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Write to Jamie Ducharme at jamie.ducharme@time.com