This is a blow to the pro-life movement, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced recently that retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens can now provide abortion pills.
Mifepristone, a popular abortion drug, was previously only available through doctors, clinics, and a few mail-order pharmacies. But a new rule from the FDA will now allow any pharmacy to fill prescription orders in stores and by mail.
“Mifeprex and its generic Mifepristone Tablets, 200 mg, are available under a single, shared system risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS), known as the Mifepristone REMS Program, the FDA shared in a statement this week.
They also gave details about the requirements that must be followed for the drug termination of pregnancy up to ten weeks gestation.
The FDA said they did not have regulatory oversight of prescription medicines from outside the legitimate U.S. drug supply chain. So they cannot ensure the safety, effectiveness, or quality of that medication.
The Guttmacher Institute revealed in a study that 54% of abortions in the United States in 2020 were done through medication. This percentage is sure to increase significantly with this new FDA ruling and the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the abortion laws to each state.
Thirteen states had trigger laws to limit abortion in place and several other states have now passed legislation to restrict abortions.
Mississippi, along with some other states, has already established laws regarding abortion pills. Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves said in July that doctors in his state would lose their medical licenses for prescribing abortion pills. And South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem also signed a bill to ban telemedicine abortion. Texas has a ban on medication abortion at seven weeks, and Indiana has a 10-week ban.
This decision from the FDA ensures that the battle over abortion in America has only just begun.
