More Than A Magazine, A Movement
It is time for the Biden administration to begin fixing inequities by ensuring that federal policies do not hinder but instead help make the abortion pill more accessible, by allowing pharmacists to dispense the abortion pill.
Making mifepristone available through pharmacies can improve abortion access—especially in rural or other areas where abortion providers and clinics are remote or unavailable. And federal action can make this a reality.
“The Biden administration promised to follow the science. In this case it couldn’t be clearer: The FDA’s restrictions on medication abortion are unnecessary, outdated, and only serve to obstruct access to care, further deepening health inequities for those who are struggling most.”
So far in 2021, anti-abortion lawmakers have been introducing new legislation in overwhelming numbers.
State policymakers are eager to test the limits of what the new anti-abortion majority on the Supreme Court might allow on abortion bans and restrictions, while laying the groundwork for constitutional protections for abortion to be weakened or eliminated entirely.
In a new study, researchers found that no-test telemedicine abortion model is just as safe and effective as the traditional in-person medication abortion model. Patients actually preferred this option to the in-person model.
In this edition: We report on the growing number of hate crimes against Asian Americans, look at a new bill aimed at improving Black maternal health, and provide the latest info on the pandemic and vaccination efforts—including updated guidance on double-masking.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is calling on the FDA to lift the in-person requirement for medication abortion care—”in light of the clear danger the requirement poses to people seeking reproductive health care at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.”
In Massachusetts, Maine Family Planning is offering telemedicine abortion, operating under a research exception to the FDA restriction.
“The pandemic has really amplified all of the hurdles for folks getting abortions. Telemedicine can help eliminate some of those challenges, allowing people to get care at home. Telemedicine has really helped to make sure that people can access the services that they want.”
In this week’s installment, we catch readers up on the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic; help maneuver vaccine rollout; and, run down the national state of reproductive health, rights and care.
On Tuesday, in its first decision on abortion since Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation, the Supreme Court opted to reverse an order that allowed medication abortion-receivers to forego an in-person doctor’s visit in light of the pandemic.
“The FDA’s policy imposes an unnecessary, unjustifiable, irrational and undue burden on women seeking an abortion during the current pandemic,” wrote Justice Sotomayor in dissent.
On Tuesday, six members of the Supreme Court granted a Trump administration request to reinstate an FDA rule requiring patients seeking medication abortion to make an unnecessary in-person visit to their health care provider just to pick up the medication and sign a form.
