The Ethics of Excluding Pregnant People from GLP-1 Drug Research | Research

The takeaway

Systematic exclusion of pregnant individuals from GLP-1 research creates dangerous evidence gaps that a reproductive justice framework could address.

Evidence gap
Systematic exclusion of pregnant people from GLP-1 trials leaves clinicians without safety data

What the researchers found

The protectionist exclusion of pregnant people from GLP-1 research creates evidence gaps that may cause more harm than inclusive research would.

Why it matters

Without pregnancy data, clinicians must make decisions about GLP-1 drugs in pregnant patients based on absence of evidence rather than evidence of safety.

The numbers in context

No clinical data presented; this is an ethical and policy analysis.

How the study worked

Bioethics analysis applying the protectionist ethic framework and reproductive justice theory to GLP-1 RA research.

Who was studied

Pregnant individuals (theoretical discussion)

What this study cannot tell us

Theoretical/ethical analysis — does not provide new clinical data on GLP-1 safety in pregnancy.

How to read the evidence

Bioethics commentary — provides ethical framework analysis, not clinical evidence.

When this study was published

Published in 2025, timely given the massive expansion of GLP-1 use among women of reproductive age.

The bigger picture

This reflects a broader movement to include pregnant people in clinical research so evidence-based decisions can replace precautionary guesswork.

Questions still open

How can GLP-1 pregnancy trials be designed to minimize risk while generating needed data?
What registry data exists on inadvertent GLP-1 exposure during pregnancy?

Common questions

Is it safe to take GLP-1 drugs during pregnancy?

We don't know — pregnant people have been excluded from clinical trials, creating a major evidence gap. Current guidelines recommend stopping GLP-1 drugs before conception.

Why are pregnant people excluded from drug studies?

A protectionist ethic aims to shield fetuses from research risk, but this creates paradoxical harm by leaving clinicians without evidence to guide treatment.

Read the original research

How Bioethics and Reproductive Justice Ought to Inform Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists, Research, and Pregnancy.

Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, e70047

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Pondugula, Nishita; Merriam, Audrey A. (2025). How Bioethics and Reproductive Justice Ought to Inform Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists, Research, and Pregnancy.. Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, e70047. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.70047