The federal appeals court ruling Wednesday night that is keeping medication abortion drugs available is likely to complicate abortion access across the country, even in places where the procedure is legal.
Since the Supreme Court overturned of Roe v. Wade last year, abortion pills – and the US Food and Drug Administration’s rules that allowed patients to obtain them without an in-person visit to an abortion provider – have become a crucial tool for mitigating some of the burdens abortion clinics have felt after the Roe reversal sent them a flood of patients from states where abortion is now illegal.
Since the FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, it has tweaked the rules around how the pills are administered – in keeping with updated knowledge around the science and evidence around the drug. The appeals court is now ordering a return to the stricter, pre-2016 FDA regime around the drug.
Only in very recent years have patients been able to obtain the pills without picking them up from a provider in person.
The requirement was first paused during the Covid-19 pandemic amid litigation during the end of the Trump administration – though the Supreme Court let the restriction go back into effect just before former President Donald Trump left office. The Biden administration then took its own steps to halt and later formally remove the in-person pick up requirement.
The access abortion seekers have had to medication abortion via telehealth – i.e. with virtual visits with their providers rather than traveling to a clinic or hospital in person to obtain the drug – came as telehealth became a more popular option for medical care generally during the pandemic. The ability to dispense the pills by mail has also relieved the pressure on brick-and-mortar clinics in Democratic-leaning states that have become overwhelmed with patients from Republican-led states…
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