Pharmacies are pushing ahead with sales of the abortion pill even after a judge’s decision threatens to restrict access to the drug nationwide as soon as Friday.
(Bloomberg) — Pharmacies are pushing ahead with sales of the abortion pill even after a judge’s decision threatens to restrict access to the drug nationwide as soon as Friday.
The Biden administration is racing to stop a Texas federal judge’s ruling designed to suspend the Food and Drug Administration’s decades-old approval of mifepristone, a pill used to terminate pregnancies. The administration asked a federal appeals court Monday afternoon to suspend the judge’s ruling, calling it “extraordinary and unprecedented” and arguing the groups behind the lawsuit didn’t have the authority to challenge the approval given they don’t actually prescribe the pill.
Making matters even more confusing, the Texas decision was followed almost immediately by a contradictory one from a federal judge in Yakima, Washington, who told the government to preserve access to the pill.
Amid the legal wrangling, organizations like Carafem, Plan C and Choix are continuing to distribute the pill and even offering it to those who want to buy some in case they need it in the future.
“It’s so confusing right now,” said Melissa Grant, chief operating officer of Carafem, a nonprofit that provides the abortion pill in several US states. “We need to reassure people who are pregnant that this option is still available.”
Read More: Hundreds of Drugmakers Condemn Texas Judge’s Abortion Pill Order
Abortion pill providers are facing arguably their biggest setback since Roe v. Wade was overruled last year. Medication abortion is approved for use in more than 80 countries and has been shown to be safe and effective. But despite its safety profile, the drug mifepristone has become the focus of controversy as abortion opponents have redoubled their efforts to cut off access to any type of abortion care.
“We are still providing care in the same way we did on Friday. We continue to provide mifepristone and misoprostol,” Grant said of the two pills used in the abortion pill combination. “And we will do that this week. And we will do it until the FDA tells us specifically that we cannot.”
The FDA said Friday that the agency stands behind its determination that mifepristone is safe and effective under its approved conditions for use. The FDA didn’t have further comment when asked about the legal rulings on Monday.
Other telehealth abortion services, like Choix, immediately saw an increase in demand for a service called “advance provision” of medication abortion. This service allows people who aren’t pregnant to buy the pills so they can stockpile them for future use.
“We usually see the amount of people requesting this care in one month’s time – rather than in one weekend,” Choix Chief Executive Officer Cindy Adam said in an email.
Read More: States Stockpile Abortion Medication in Wake of Texas Ruling
Choix is closely monitoring the outcome of the opposing federal district rulings and the FDA’s response. For now, it is continuing to provide abortion care with mifepristone. “If mifepristone is unjustly prohibited, Choix will offer a misoprostol-only protocol to our patients,” she said.
The abortion pill that’s the target of lawsuits, mifepristone, is given in combination with a drug called misoprostol. Misoprostol is used for conditions besides abortions and can be given on its own to terminate a pregnancy, yet it isn’t as effective as the combination.
Abortion providers, including Honeybee Health and Abortion on Demand, had already planned to stock up on misoprostol in case a ruling blocks access to mifepristone. While misoprostol is considered safe and effective for terminating pregnancies, it has been found to be most effective when used following mifepristone.
Plan C, an organization that provides information about access to abortion pills online, said it has had to work even harder to ensure people are aware that access to abortion pills will still be possible in all states through alternate sites, co-founder and co-director Elisa Wells said in an email.
“The only change on our side is to work even harder to get this information out to people who need it,” she said.
Major retail pharmacies Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., CVS Health Corp., and Rite Aid Corp. plan to sell the pill in locations where state law allows. The FDA only recently created a pathway for these companies to be able to dispense the drug and the pharmacies have yet to start selling the pills at their retail stores. All three chains declined to comment on the rulings Monday.
–With assistance from Madlin Mekelburg.
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