The Food and Drug Administration will allow retail pharmacies to dispense abortion medication to women who have a prescription for the first time.
Under the regulatory change, pharmacies that become certified can offer mifepristone, which is used with misoprostol to end a pregnancy, to patients who have received a prescription from a qualified health provider, a move that will expand access to the medication. Previously, the FDA had only allowed abortion medication to be prescribed and dispensed only by clinics, medical offices, hospitals, or under the supervision of a certified health provider.
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“Today’s FDA announcement expands access to medications that are essential for reproductive autonomy and is a step in the right direction that is especially needed to increase access to abortion care,” said Evan Masingill, the CEO of GenBioPro, the manufacturer of generic mifepristone, in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “GenBioPro looks forward to working with prescribers and pharmacies to increase access to medical abortion care for all people.”
The FDA had previously said in December 2021 that it would no longer enforce a rule that required people to get the first of the two drugs in person at a medical office or clinic, allowing abortion medication to be sent through the mail during the coronavirus pandemic.
CVS and Walgreens both said Wednesday they are evaluating requirements to offer the drug at their pharmacies.
“We’re reviewing the FDA’s updated Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) drug safety program for mifepristone to determine the requirements to dispense in states that do not restrict the dispensing of medications prescribed for elective termination of pregnancy,” a CVS spokesperson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
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Several states already have regulations restricting access to abortion medication. In Tennessee, a newly enacted law requires a doctor to be physically present when abortion medication is administered to a patient. The law effectively outlaws mailing the drug and bars pharmacists from dispensing it.
Indiana passed a law in 2021 that bans medication abortions after 10 weeks of pregnancy. Texas, which prohibits abortions at all stages of pregnancy with limited exceptions, also has banned medication abortions after seven weeks of pregnancy.
