Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
FDA Clears Path To Make It Easier To Access Abortion Pills
Politico: FDA Loosens Rules For Distributing Abortion Pills, Opening New Battle Fronts
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it's lifting longstanding restrictions on abortion pills, clearing the way for doctors to prescribe the drugs online and have them mailed to patients or sent to local pharmacies. Enforcement of the agency’s decades-old rules requiring the pills to be physically handed out by a physician was suspended earlier this year following a lawsuit from the ACLU arguing that the risks of traveling to a doctor’s office during the Covid-19 pandemic outweighed any potential harms from having the drugs delivered. Now, the agency says it will move to make the looser distribution rules permanent. (Ollstein, 12/16)
Roll Call: FDA Loosens Restrictions On Medication Abortion Drug
Under current regulations, a provider who wishes to prescribe medication abortions must be registered with the drug manufacturer to stock and dispense mifepristone, also known as RU-486. Some providers have criticized these additional steps as limiting access because it can be complicated and because many medical facilities may oppose stocking the drug. ... Medication abortion refers to a nonsurgical procedure that induces an abortion. It involves taking two pills — mifepristone and, 24 to 48 hours later, misoprostol — to cause an abortion or for miscarriage management. (Raman, 12/16)
Stat: FDA Lifts Key Restriction On Abortion Pill, Allowing It To Be Obtained By Mail
The decision means that medication abortion may become more widely available to women who find it difficult to travel to abortion providers. Going forward, any doctor who is certified to prescribe the pill, which is known as mifepristone, can do so online and have it sent by mail, which will allow pregnancies to be terminated at home, even if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade. “This is a very significant development,” said Daniel Grossman, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, who has studied mifepristone dispensing. (Silverman, 12/16)
NPR: FDA Relaxes Restrictions On Access To Abortion Pill By Mail
Julia Kaye, an ACLU attorney, said years of data demonstrate that mifepristone is safe if used appropriately. "At this moment, with Roe v. Wade hanging by a thread, it is especially urgent that the federal government do everything in its power to follow the science and expand access to this safe, effective medication," Kaye said. Major medical groups including the American Medical Association argue that since mifepristone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000, it has built up a strong safety record. (McCammon and Franklin, 12/16)
In related news about abortion —
The Washington Post: Supreme Court Sends Texas Abortion Case To Appeals Court Instead Of To Judge Who Previously Blocked The Law
The Supreme Court returned the lawsuit over Texas’s restrictive abortion law to a federal appeals court Thursday, rejecting a request by abortion providers to send the case to a district judge who had previously declared the law unconstitutional. The order came from Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who last week wrote the majority opinion that left in place the law, which bans most abortions after six weeks. The decision granted a narrow path for providers to challenge the law’s unique enforcement structure. (Barnes and Marimow, 12/16)
The New Yorker: Inside An Oklahoma City Abortion Clinic
The staff is struggling to meet the needs of Texas patients, with no relief in sight. (Watson, 12/16)
KHN: Abortion Rights Advocates Try To Change Opinions With Deeply Personal Conversations
It’s Saturday, and Sarah Mahoney is one of several Planned Parenthood volunteers knocking on doors in Windham, Maine, a politically moderate town not far from Portland. No one answers at the first couple of houses. But as Mahoney heads up the street, she sees a woman out for a walk. “Hey! We’re out canvassing,” she says. “Would you mind having a conversation with us?” Mahoney wants to talk about abortion — not a typical topic for a conversation, especially with a stranger. But the woman, Kerry Kelchner, agrees to talk. If this were typical door-to-door canvassing, Mahoney might ask Kelchner about a political candidate, remind her to vote and then be on her way. But Mahoney is deep canvassing — a technique that employs longer conversations to move opinions on hot-button issues. (Wight, 12/17)
