The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday permanently removed a major obstacle for women seeking abortion pills, eliminating a long-standing requirement that they pick up the medication in person.
Millions of women in the US would now be able to obtain a prescription through 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.
Photo: Reuters
Prescribers would still need to undergo certification and training, and dispensing pharmacies would have to be certified, the agency said.
The decision is the latest shift in a polarized legal battle over medication abortion, which has only 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 20-year-old rule, which has long been opposed by medical societies, including the American Medical Association, which says the restriction offers no clear benefit to patients.
The FDA’s latest scientific review stems from a 2017 lawsuit led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 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 that regulators should have gone further and allowed prescribing by any physician and broader pharmacy dispensing.
Abortion opponents said the decision would result in more drug-related side effects and complications for women.
Physicians who prescribe the drug, mifepristone, would have to certify that they can provide emergency care to deal with potential adverse effects, including excessive bleeding, FDA officials said on Thursday.
The change still means many more doctors would be able to write prescriptions and women would be able to fill their orders at far more pharmacies, including through online and mail-order services.
The effect would 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 anti-abortion movement, given that its leaders generally say they do not favor criminalizing the actions of women seeking abortions and because mail deliveries can be an elusive target for prosecutors.
“The FDA’s decision will come as a tremendous relief for countless abortion and miscarriage patients,” ACLU lawyer Georgeanne Usova said. “However, it is disappointing that the FDA fell short of repealing all of its medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone and these remaining obstacles should also be lifted.”
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