FDA lifts restrictions on heavily regulated abortion pills, permitting mail delivery in states that allow it


The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday permanently lifted 20-year-old restrictions against home delivery and telehealth prescription of a set of pills to terminate a pregnancy, saying a review of the abortion pill's safety did not warrant the extra rules. The FDA has allowed telehealth consultations and mail delivery of the drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, since April under a special pandemic dispensation.
The FDA imposed the requirement that women obtain the two pills only after an in-person consultation at a limited number of specialty clinics and doctor's offices when it approved mifepristone in 2000. It lifted them in response to a 2017 lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union. Proponents of abortion rights said the FDA acted just in time.
"With Roe v. Wade hanging by a thread, it is especially urgent that the federal government do everything in its power to expand access to this medication," said ACLU staff attorney Julia Kaye. The ACLU applauded the FDA but said it should have ended the other extra restrictions on the pills. Doctors who prescribe mifepristone still have to undergo certification and training, and dispensing pharmacies need to be certified.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The American Medical Association and other medical groups have called for the restrictions to be lifted since a 2017 study from Canada found medication abortions equally safe without in-person consultation. Abortion opponents said the lifting of the in-person requirement could adversely affect some women.
The FDA's easing of restrictions will have no practical effect in the more than dozen states, mostly in the South and Midwest, that have banned in-person delivery or telehealth prescription of the abortion pills.
Still, "increased use of mail-order abortion pills could pose a dilemma for the anti-abortion movement, given that its leaders generally say they don't favor criminalizing the actions of women seeking abortions and because mail deliveries can be an elusive target for prosecutors," The Associated Press reports.
Abigail Aiken, assistant professor of public affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, said she's often asked whether the country is headed to "back-alley abortions and infections" without Roe v. Wade. "One of the things we have that we didn't have in the '60s and '70s is access to abortion pills that are very safe, very effective if you have the right instructions," she told The Washington Post. They also let you "take your health care into your own hands when the state legislature is trying to block access."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the right
Speed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the rise
The Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
‘Nightmare bacteria’ are rapidly spreading
Under the radar The infections are largely resistant to antibiotics
-
Kissing bug disease has a growing presence in the US
The explainer The disease has yielded a steady stream of cases in the last 10 years
-
Climate change is making us eat more sugar
Under the radar Sweets make the heat feel more manageable
-
Trump makes unmoored claims on Tylenol and autism
Speed Read No causal relationship has been established between autism and acetaminophen use during pregnancy
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shot
Speed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Quit-smoking ads are being put out
Under the radar The dissolution of a government-funded campaign could lead to more smokers in the future