United States of America has give green-light to retail pharmacies to dispense the abortion pills mifepristone for the first time.
This comes under a new rule change by the Biden administration.
Mifepristone is currently only available in person from a medical professional as one of a two-drug regimen that is safe and effective for causing an abortion.
The new regulation still calls for a prescription, but patients can now pick up the medication in-person or via mail.
The action may greatly increase the number of women who can seek medical abortions.
After the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to an abortion last year, demand for abortion pills increased as a result of some states outlawing or severely restricting access to the procedure.
According to the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute, more than half of abortions performed in the US are currently performed through pill rather than surgical procedure.
As part of its pandemic-driven shift toward telemedicine, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had announced in December 2021 that it will permanently remove the necessity for individuals to receive a prescription in person from a healthcare professional.
The FDA added the new restrictions to its website on Tuesday, stating that the medication “may be dispensed by licensed pharmacies or by or under the supervision of a registered prescriber.”
The two US manufacturers of the medication, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, stated in individual comments that they had been informed of the agency’s choice.
Pharmacies of all sizes and types, including corner drugstores, can now apply for certification to distribute mifepristone, enabling them to provide direct patient care when a patient has a prescription from a licensed prescriber. Both pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS have stated they are looking into the new standards.
However, it’s likely that the political minefields surrounding abortion will have an impact on whether and where pharmacies supply the medication.
It’s also conceivable that women in the more than a dozen states where pharmaceutical abortions are prohibited will have to travel to another state to get one.
