Abortion pills now also available in pharmacies in the USA
Created: 04/01/2023 14:33
Originally, only medical practices and clinics could dispense abortion pills in the United States.
Now they can also be sold by pharmacies.
Washington - In the United States, the availability of abortion pills will be significantly expanded.
This is reported by the AFP
news agency
.
In the future, they will also be available in pharmacies, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Tuesday.
The drug mifepristone may therefore be sold by pharmacies in countries in which abortions are permitted.
Prerequisite is the prescription of a doctor, it says in the message.
So far, the abortion pill has only been available in licensed medical practices and clinics, as well as from a few mail-order pharmacies in the States.
In this country, too, people are demonstrating against the right to abortion - like these Christians in Augsburg in May 2022. © Alexander Pohl/imago
What is the abortion pill?
The abortion pill is a way of ending an unwanted pregnancy.
It contains the active ingredient
mifepristone
.
It inhibits the body's own hormone progesterone, which is essential for the development and maintenance of pregnancy.
However, the abortion pill can only terminate an early pregnancy - not one that is more advanced.
The abortion pill should
not
be confused with the morning-
after pill
.
Depending on the preparation, this must be taken no later than 72 or 120 hours after unprotected sexual intercourse and primarily inhibits or delays ovulation - i.e. prevents pregnancy.
The morning-after pill is not an abortion pill.
In
Germany
, the abortion pill may only be dispensed by
approved clinics and medical practices
that are allowed to carry out abortions.
Pharmacies that want to sell abortion pills must be certified under the new FDA rules.
A written declaration of consent is required from the patient for the release of the drug.
Abortion pills now also available in certified pharmacies: Demand for pills in the USA has risen sharply
In the US, demand for abortion pills, which prevent implantation of a fetus in the womb immediately after an egg is fertilized, has surged following a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court on abortion last year.
In June 2022, the Supreme Court, dominated by conservative judges, abolished the nationwide right to abortion that had been in force for almost 50 years.
This gave states the opportunity to massively restrict abortions or to ban them altogether.
Numerous conservative states have now done so.
US President Joe Biden called the verdict a "tragic mistake" and spoke of "a sad day for the Supreme Court and the country".
Ex-President Donald Trump, on the other hand, welcomed the Supreme Court's decision and spoke of a "win for life".
Experts say abortion pills already account for more than half of all abortions in the US, according to AFP.
In the political and legal struggle for abortion rights, the means played an increasingly important role.
Abortion pills now available in certified pharmacies: Industry profits are more important, claim opponents of the judge's decision
The US civil rights organization ACLU welcomed the future easier access to abortion pills, according to the agency report.
This takes an "unnecessary burden" off patients, explained ACLU rep Julia Kaye.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, chair of the anti-abortion organization Susan B. Anthony List, condemned the court's decision.
The government of US President Joe Biden is proving "once again that the profits of the abortion industry are more important than the safety of women and the lives of unborn children".
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In this country, too, the topic of "abortion" repeatedly causes heated arguments between opponents and supporters.
In 2017, for example, a doctor was fined by the Gießen district court because she had offered abortions as a service on her website.
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