Planned Parenthood faces $350M suit over ‘safer than Tylenol’ ads

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier told Fox News Digital on Friday that it is “patently false” to claim that a popular abortion-inducing drug currently under federal review is “safer than Tylenol,” launching a multimillion-dollar lawsuit and citing RICO statutes.

Mifepristone, a drug that blocks the pregnancy hormone progesterone, is often used as part of a two-drug process that critics call “chemical abortion.” About 24 hours after taking mifepristone, the pregnant woman will take misoprostol, which causes uterine contractions and helps expel the likely deceased fetus.

Current FDA approval allows mifepristone to be prescribed within 10 weeks of conception, although the state of Florida and FDA chief Dr. Marty Makary are separately reviewing the drug’s safety.

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Florida ad highlights abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol (Authorization: 40 days for life)

Uthmeier said there is growing evidence of adverse health consequences for women who take mifepristone — and that studies have shown that on average more than one death per year this century has been attributed to complications.

The $350 million figure is calculated to allow for statutory damages of $10,000 per affected Floridian in 35,000 cases, as the attorney general has balked in court filings at the idea that a common painkiller — recently subject to federal scrutiny itself — could be compared to such “chemical abortions.”

“Planned Parenthood sells profitable abortions to vulnerable women by lying to them that abortion pills are safer than Tylenol,” Uthmeier wrote in the filing.

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“The ‘safer than Tylenol’ marketing campaign has been going on for years, targeting Florida women. Just a few weeks ago, defendant Planned Parenthood Florida Action proclaimed on X.com that ‘Mifepristone is safe. Safer than Tylenol.’ — This statement is patently false.”

Tylenol, a trade name for acetaminophen pills marketed by Summit, New Jersey-based Kenvue Pharmaceuticals, is widely considered a ubiquitous drug, but is also not without controversy.

A dispute between the Trump administration and Kenvue — a spinoff of the better-known Johnson & Johnson — over whether the painkiller causes autism, and there was a scandal in the 1980s in which capsules marketed in Illinois were adulterated with cyanide and killed several people.

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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier speaks during a news conference at the Attorney General’s Office in Orlando, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Florida claimed Planned Parenthood knew its claims about Tylenol-mifepristone were “false” and “seriously misleading women…about the safety and risks of chemical abortion.”

“The use of chemical abortive medications routinely lands women in emergency rooms with bleeding and other serious complications,” the state said.

Uthmeier’s suit cited a recent analysis that found about 10 percent of women who underwent “chemical abortions” became septic or suffered similar life-threatening side effects within 45 days.

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The suit alleges that Planned Parenthood appears to prefer chemical abortions over surgical abortions because they are more “cost effective.”

“Business is booming for Planned Parenthood. Its most recent annual report lists more than $2 billion in revenue and $3.1 billion in assets,” the suit states.

“The secret to the organization’s recent success lies in a top-down strategy to reduce unprofitable health services and increase profitable abortions,” he adds, citing comparative statistics on other services like cancer screening from 2013 and 2023.

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The suit also accused Planned Parenthood of violating RICO statutes – generally reserved for organized crime and mafia syndicates.

The state asked the court to declare Planned Parenthood’s repeated advertisements touting the safety of mifepristone a “pattern of racketeering activity.”

Planned Parenthood’s national and Sunshine State chapters fired back against Uthmeier and Tallahassee in statements to Fox News Digital.

“Again, to Florida lawmakers: Mifepristone is safe and effective and has been used by more than 7.5 million people in the United States for abortion and miscarriage since its approval more than two decades ago,” said Susan Baker Manning, general counsel for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

“See you in court,” Baker Manning said.

Alexandra Mandado, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Florida, added that her group “proudly offers patients accurate and comprehensive medical information” alongside their care.

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“[T]his politically motivated attack will change nothing. »

In response to the Trump administration’s claims about Tylenol, Kenvue said at the time that “robust scientific data clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism.”