 |
| Photo Credit: Jeshoots / Pexels |
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) applies restrictions called the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy to some drugs since taking them involves a risk the FDA believes is great enough to require patients to see a doctor in person first. This is what the FDA requires for the abortion drug mifepristone. It is particularly risky for a pregnant woman to take mifepristone if she has a condition called an ectopic pregnancy, in which their child develops outside the uterus. If a woman with an ectopic pregnancy attempts to complete a DIY abortion using the abortion pill regimen, she is at high risk for severe hemorrhage or even death. To prevent this, a doctor can first perform an ultrasound to ensure this condition is not present. Even without an ectopic pregnancy, however, some women require follow-up surgeries and medical treatments after taking the abortion pill regimen.
The ACOG and ACLU do not want to acknowledge this risk and have taken legal action in an attempt to force the FDA to change its stance. They instead are trying to use the COVID-19 epidemic as an excuse to expand chemical abortions. They are spinning the situation to accuse the FDA of causing COVID-19 to spread more by choosing to maintain their safety regulations.
“Of the more than 20,000 drugs regulated by the FDA, mifepristone is the only one that patients must receive in person at a hospital, clinic, or medical office, yet may self-administer, unsupervised, at a location of their choosing,” the ACOG complaint reads.
“Our request in this case is simple: the federal government should permit patients seeking safe and effective reproductive health care, which includes care for miscarriage and termination of pregnancy, the same ability to access care and protect themselves from exposure as patients in other contexts are afforded,” said ACOG President Eva Chalas.
Pregnancy is not a disease that can be treated or cured with a drug. It is much more complex than that, and the current FDA regulations respect that context by placing special restrictions on abortion pills. These drugs also end human lives; a fact that has yet to be respected by federal laws.
