Food and Drug Administration Eases Restrictions on Medication Abortions
On Tuesday, January 3, 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) announced that retail and online pharmacies will be allowed to offer the abortion pill, Mifepristone, in the United States.
The medication, which was previously disbursed by healthcare providers, will now be easier to access. For some states, this decision is a milestone in the reproductive justice movement. For other states, this means that the battle has just begun.
Mifepristone is one of two medications used in conjunction to terminate a pregnancy without the use of surgical procedures. Mifepristone must be taken within 10 weeks of the pregnancy to properly block the hormone that terminates the pregnancy. Misoprostol, the other drug in the cocktail, must be taken 24-48 hours after Mifepristone.
Women will also be able to take the medications from their home and not in front of a healthcare provider.
Unlike in the past, women will now be able to obtain a prescription from a healthcare provider and then purchase said medications from select pharmacies retail and online pharmacies that agree to carry the medicines.
While a win for the reproductive justice movement, this new policy does not come without hurdles.
States that have already outlawed or placed restrictions on surgical abortions are certainly going to find ways to restrict the use of medication abortion.
Prior to the decision that overruled Roe vs. Wade, twenty states, including Georgia, proposed bills outlawing or limiting medication abortion. Georgia proposed a bill restricting providers from prescribing medications via telehealth. Other states, like Alabama, attempted to implement outright bans on medication abortion.
As of today, Georgia requires that the prescriber be a physician thereby restricting the right of nurse practitioners and physician assistants from prescribing the medication. Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina have taken the same measure in addition to restricting telehealth.
SisterLove along with hundreds of other state, regional, and national organizations are preparing for the onslaught of post-Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization bills that may be filed in 2023.
Our primary argument is that state law cannot obstruct the federal power of the F.D.A. Please join Sisterlove this legislative session as we voice the importance of a woman’s right to bodily autonomy.
