Medicated abortion became legal in the United States in 2000, when mifepristone was approved by the FDA. The agency imposed strict restrictions on the drug, many of which remain in effect. But access to the method increased in 2016, when the FDA expanded the time frame within which the drug could be taken — from seven weeks to 10 weeks into a pregnancy.
As conservative states began to pass more laws restricting access to surgical abortions, more patients opted for pills, mainly because they can be taken in the privacy of their homes.
The Covid pandemic has fueled that trend. The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, reported that by 2020 drug abortion accounted for 54 percent of all abortions.
Early in the pandemic, medical groups filed a lawsuit asking the FDA to override the requirement that mifepristone, which blocks a hormone critical to the continuation of a pregnancy, be delivered in person to patients at a clinic or doctor’s office. Citing years of data showing that drug abortion is safe, the medical groups said patients were at greater risk of being infected with the coronavirus if they had to visit clinics to obtain mifepristone.
For parts of the pandemic, the FDA temporarily lifted the personal requirement and removed it permanently in December. In addition, the agency said pharmacies could start dispensing mifepristone if they meet certain qualifications. The agency is working out those qualifications with the drug’s two manufacturers, and reproductive health organizations said some national retail pharmacy chains have expressed interest in dispensing the medication in some states, at least by mail.
The second drug, misoprostol, which produces contractions similar to those of a miscarriage and is taken up to 48 hours later, has long been available for a variety of uses with a typical prescription.
Understand the state of Roe v. Wade
What is Roe v. Wade? Roe v. Wade is a landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. The 7-2 ruling was announced on Jan. 22, 1973. Judge Harry A. Blackmun, a humble Midwestern Republican and defender of the right to abortion, wrote the majority opinion.
A senior Biden administration official said this week that officials are looking for further steps the administration can take to increase access to all forms of abortion, including the pill method. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the leaked Supreme Court decision, said President Biden has “led his team “in every aspect in every creative way, every aspect of federal law, to try to do everything possible” to protect abortion rights.
