Rule opens up access to abortion pills in US

The United States Food and Drug Administration has expanded access to abortion through medication by allowing certified retail drugstores, including large chains and mail-order companies, to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone.

Before the federal agency finalized the rule change on Tuesday, mifepristone was tightly controlled and could only be dispensed by specially certified clinics or doctors, and by a few mail-order pharmacies.

The mail-order option was not even available until 2021, when the FDA allowed telemedicine prescription and mail-order delivery to overcome in-person restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mifepristone, combined with a second drug called misoprostol, has been used to induce an abortion up to 10 weeks into pregnancy. Under the new regulation, a prescription is still required to obtain the pills.

The latest data from the abortion rights organization Guttmacher Institute indicated that medication abortion accounted for 53 percent of all facility-based abortions in the US in 2020.

A previous report found medication abortion accounted for 39 percent of all abortions in 2017, indicating a fast growth in pill use.

"Under the Mifepristone REMS(risk evaluation and mitigation strategy) Program, as modified, Mifeprex and its approved generic can be dispensed by certified pharmacies or by or under the supervision of a certified prescriber," the FDA stated on its website on Tuesday.

Abortion rights activists said the drug, which has been available since 2000, has proved to be safe, effective and without risk of overdose or addiction. It is available over the counter in some countries such as Mexico and India.

'Step in the right direction'

Planned Parenthood president Alexis Johnson called the FDA's decision "a step in the right direction for health equity".

"Being able to access your prescribed medication abortion through the mail or to pick it up in person from a pharmacy like any other prescription is a game changer for people trying to access basic healthcare," Johnson said in a statement.

Anti-abortion groups condemned the decision.

"The Biden administration has once again proved that it values abortion industry profits over women's safety and unborn children's lives. Abortion activists want to turn every post office and pharmacy into an abortion business, and the Biden FDA is a willing participant," Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a statement.

However, access to abortion pills is restricted in more than 10 states where abortion is banned after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade to overturn the constitutional right to abortion.

Guttmacher Institute reported that 16 of those states have introduced legislation to ban or limit the availability of medication abortion.