U.S. FDA expands access to abortion pill in states asking limits

The U.S. FDA expanded its access of the abortion pill on March 30. The action could make the pill for abortions more accessible in at least three states wanting to limit the medication.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration tried to expand its approval of the abortion pill on March 30, which could make the abortion medications more easily available in at least three states that hope to limit its use. According to POLITICO, the new adjustments made by the agency will mean that there will be a few doctor visits and lower dosages for the abortion medications making the whole process of abortion cheaper to acquire. The agency also updates the label requirements for Mifepristone to allow patients to take some doses at home.  

The updated practice would also extend the time a pregnant woman can take the abortion medications from 49 days to up to 70 days. The dosage was also reduced from 600 milligrams to 200 milligrams, as reported by The New York Times.

"After reviewing the supplemental application, the agency determined that Mifeprex is safe and effective when used to terminate a pregnancy in accordance with revised labeling," the Food and Drug Administration claimed in a statement, pointing out on the brand name of the abortion medication.

Moreover, while the healthcare providers all throughout the United States utilized the new protocol for years, at least three states, North Dakota, Ohio, and Texas, limited healthcare providers to use only the FDA-approved practice. Abortion drugs also became more expensive in the three states. Healthcare providers would also usually recommend women to undergo more invasive surgical abortions.

Three other states, including Arkansas, Arizona, and Oklahoma, also passed the same laws prior to the declaration of the FDA's new protocol. However, those laws have been blocked by the courts.

11Alive also claimed that abortion rights groups referred to the FDA's move as a long-needed dose of common sense given the history of the abortion drugs. The President of NARAL Pro-Choice of America, which is a network of groups made to protect and expand reproductive freedoms, Ilyse Hogue, stated that the abortion pill has proven to be safer than Tylenol and other common medications used globally for over decades.

Meanwhile, Ohio's law restricting the use of the abortion drugs led to a sharp fall in the medical abortions. But anti-abortions groups still claim that the FDA has downplayed the health risks associated with the abortion medications. 

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U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Food and Drug Administration news, U.S. Food and Drug Administration updates, U.S. FDA new protocol, U.S. FDA expands access to abortion pill, U.S. FDA new protocol on abortion pill

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