The right move on abortion medication
Precisely when human life begins is above our pay grade, but at a time when states are radically restricting women’s right to seek reproductive health care — and forcing rape and incest victims, among others, to give birth — policymakers in Washington ought to be using federal laws and regulations to safeguard those same freedoms. That renders it a no-brainer that the Food and
Drug Administration finalized a rule change making abortion pills more broadly available.
These are not so-called morning-after or emergency contraception pills like Plan B. We are referring here to mifepristone, a prescription substance approved by regulators in 2000 but made available on only a limited basis.
Late last year, the FDA removed the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and let it be dispensed not only by clinicians but by certified pharmacies. Last Tuesday, the regulators finalized a rule ensuring that many large pharmacies will be able to dispense it, provided they are trained to provide emergency care in the case of excessive bleeding.
That’s as it should be. The drug is serious and should never be used without safeguards, but after qualified professionals have signed off, arbitrary barriers ought not prevent the medication from being obtained. Many pharmaceuticals with powerful effects are available by mail without onerous requirements.
More than half of U.S. abortions are done with pills rather than surgery. If six or seven weeks in, a woman in Idaho or Texas is determined to terminate her pregnancy, her right to do so safely now depends on having the funds to get to another state. Allowing wider access to prescription medication is humane.