In response to abortion-related concerns taking place during the COVID-19 outbreak, a group of 21 attorneys general are urging the federal government to allow pregnant individuals to use mifepristone if they would like to terminate their pregnancy without unnecessary travel.
According to Huffington Post senior reporter Melissa Jeltsen, the current system in place requires that pregnant individuals looking to obtain a medically-induced abortion must “travel in person to an abortion clinic to pick up the medication, even though the termination generally takes place at home. That’s because mifepristone, the first of the two drugs used in medication abortion, is subject to a special set of U.S. Food and Drug Administration restrictions called Risk Evacuation and Mitigation Strategy. Under the REMS, a person seeking a medication abortion cannot obtain the drugs from a pharmacy or in the mail. The drugs can only be dispensed in a medical facility.”
In their letter, the authoring attorneys general have urged the Trump administration, the FCA, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to allow mifepristone to be accessed and prescribed through telemedicine. The attorneys general believe that “The FDA should not mandate this medically unnecessary travel, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis where not only are [pregnant individuals] being advised to stay at home, but families are faced with additional childcare and financial constraints.”
Sources: Huffington Post 3/30; AG Letter 3/30; FDA.gov 3/2020
