TOPLINE
A federal court ruled Monday that women can obtain abortion pills by mail or delivery during the coronavirus pandemic, which an attorney for the plaintiffs called a “tremendous victory” for “science and common sense.”
KEY FACTS
A U.S. District judge in Silver Spring, Maryland, ruled that in-person visits to hospitals, doctor offices or healthcare clinics for those seeking abortions are unconstitutional in the pandemic, reports the Associated Press via U.S. News & World Report.
The ruling came after the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other groups represented by the American Civil Liberties Union sued the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Food and Drug Administration, HHS Secretary Alex Azar and FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn to allow for patients to get the pill without an in-person medical visit, saying that this requirement fails to advance the patients’ health and safety.
The judge concurred that this ruling aligns with the CDC’s advisory to avoid in-person contact and extraneous travel.
“Particularly in light of the limited timeframe during which a medication abortion or any abortion must occur, such infringement on the right to an abortion would constitute irreparable harm,” wrote Judge Theodore Chuang in the July 13 ruling.
Healthcare providers nationwide will be able to mail or deliver mifepristone, which is used in combination with misoprotosol to perform an abortion, to patients for the duration of the Covid-19 public health emergency, though they must comply with the respective state rules on abortion.
The ACLU, which represents the plaintiffs in the case, said that mifepristone is the singular drug that the FDA requires patients receive in a medical setting, like a hospital, but can “self-administer, unsupervised, at a location of their choosing.”
Critical Quote
“This is a tremendous victory for abortion patients and for science and common sense,” said ACLU attorney Julia Kaye via Associated Press, ABC News.
Chief Critic
Indiana, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma asked to intervene in the suit, arguing that it would impact their own regulations around mifepristone. Justice Chang rejected their entrance into the suit in June, saying that states would be able to continue to regulate the drug “above and beyond” the FDA requirements, according to ABC News.
Big Number
4 million. That’s the amount of U.S. women who’ve used mifepristone and misprostol for abortions. This combination accounted 39% of all abortions in America in 2017, according to the lawsuit via U.S. News & World Report.
Tangent
Methadone, which is used to treat opioid addiction and has previously been administered in-person at clinics, is similarly available for delivery by mail and by pharmacy pickup because methadone clinics have been deemed a coronavirus risk in some places.
Further Reading
Judge: Women Can Get Abortion Pill Without Doctor Visits (U.S. News & World Report)
