In-person restrictions on abortion pill loosened
WASHINGTON – The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday permanently loosened a key restriction on abortion pills, eliminating a longstanding requirement that the medication be picked up in person.
Millions of American women will now be able to get a prescription via an online consultation and receive the pills through the mail. FDA officials said a scientific review supported broadening access, including no longer limiting dispensing to a small number of specialty clinics and doctor’s offices.
But prescribers will still need to undergo certification and training. The agency also said dispensing pharmacies will have to be certified.
The decision is the latest shift in the polarized legal battle over medication abortion, which has intensified amid the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is certain to spur legal challenges and more restrictions in Republican-led states.
Earlier this year, the FDA stopped enforcing the in-person requirement because of the pandemic. Under Thursday’s decision, the agency permanently dropped the rule, which has long been opposed by medical societies, including the American Medical Association, which say the restriction offers no clear benefit to patients.
The FDA’S latest scientific review stems from a 2017 lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued that the agency’s restrictions block or delay medical care, especially for people in low-income and rural communities.
The ACLU hailed the elimination of the strictest requirements but said regulators should have gone further and allowed prescribing by any physician and broader dispensing. Abortion opponents said the FDA decision would result in more drug-related side effects and complications for women.
Physicians who prescribe the drug, mifepristone, will have to certify that they can provide emergency care to deal with potential adverse effects, including excessive bleeding, FDA officials said Thursday.
The change still means many more doctors will be able to write prescriptions and American women will be able to fill their orders at far more pharmacies, including via online and mail-order services.
The effect will vary by state. More than a dozen Republican-led states have passed measures that limit access to the pills, including outlawing delivery by mail.
Increased use of mail-order abortion pills could pose a dilemma for the antiabortion movement, given that its leaders generally say they don’t favor criminalizing the actions of women seeking abortions and because mail deliveries can be an elusive target for prosecutors.
The latest policy shift comes as advocates on both sides of the abortion debate wait to see whether the conservative Supreme Court will weaken or even overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that guarantees the right to abortion nationwide.
Roe’s demise would likely prompt at least 20 Republican-governed states to impose sweeping bans while perhaps 15 states governed by Democrats would
reaffirm support for abortion access.