It is a measure that could significantly expand access to abortion in the United States after the 2022 Supreme Court ruling annulling its federal protection.
The sale of abortion pills will be authorized in pharmacies in the United States, announced Tuesday January 3 the American Medicines Agency (FDA). This decision will allow mifepristone, the first of two drugs used by abortion clinics to terminate a pregnancy, to be available in pharmacies in states where abortion is authorized. In 2000, the FDA approved mifepristone to terminate pregnancies up to ten weeks old when used with a second drug, misoprostol.
A doctor’s prescription will be needed to obtain these pills, which were previously only available at a few online pharmacies or from licensed doctors or clinics.
Increased use of abortion pills
Demand for abortion pills has surged since the conservative-dominated Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling last June reversing the Roe decision. vs. Wade, who had guaranteed women’s right to abortion for half a century.
According to experts, abortion pills are already used in more than half of pregnancy termination procedures in the United States. They are increasingly at the center of the political and legal battle for the right to abortion.
It will be up to the pharmacies – which will have to be certified to show that they have the knowledge and the capacity to treat patients having recourse to abortion – to decide whether or not to accept the prescriptions. Patients will also need to complete a consent form.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called the FDA decision a “significant step forward”. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also greeted her: “We are pleased that the FDA has expanded pharmacy access to this safe and effective drug, easing one of the agency’s unnecessary burdens for patients using mifepristone.”commented Julia Kaye, an attorney for the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the anti-abortion organization Susan B. Anthony List, for her part criticized the decision. “The Biden administration has once again proven that it prioritizes the profits of the abortion industry over the safety of women and the lives of unborn children”she said in a communicated.