The Justice Department has been partnered with the Biden administration.Recently discussedThe Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Roe v. Wade has led to medication abortion being questioned by some.
After the SCOTUS determination, the Justice Department issued a warning to states not to ban mifepristone, a federally approved drug that induces abortions. Mifepristone can safely end a pregnancy for up to 10 weeks if it is used in combination with misoprostol.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SCOTUS lifted the restriction that mandated mifepristone be dispensed in person.
This changed allowed it to be prescribed via telemedicine by a provider and sent to the patient by postal mail.
Now that the court has ended federal protections for abortions, individual states are subsequently allowed to determine their individual reproductive healthcare laws.
Because of this, several new limits and bans are expected to follow, with medication abortion being one of the upcoming targets.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, 19 states require the clinician providing a medication abortion to be physically present when the drug is administered, which limits the use of telemedicine.
Two states currently ban the use of medication abortion beginning at a specific point in pregnancy, and 32 states only allow physicians to provide mifepristone, even though the FDA allows other certified health care providers to prescribe the medication, according to the Institute.
Biden administration has instructed the Department of Health and Human Services to make sure that medications such as mifepristone are available. “are available to the fullest extent possible, and that politicians cannot interfere in the decisions that should be made between a woman and her doctor,” according to a statement from HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Becerra’s response said that the department will work to increase access to medication abortion.
According to the secretary, this could include teaming up with the Justice Department to ensure “A state may not ban medication abortion if it disagrees with the FDA expert judgment regarding the drug’s safety or efficacy.