A medication-induced abortion, also known as medical abortion, involves taking two different drugs over the course of one or two days.The biggest issues surround mifepristone, which has been authorized and tightly regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration since 2000.Until shortly before the Covid pandemic, it could be provided only in person and in specific locales, notably abortion clinics.
The agency asked the two pharmaceutical companies supplying it -- Danco Laboratories, which sells it as Mifeprex, and generic manufacturer GenBioPro -- to set up a system allowing wider distribution. That is what was approved this week.Pharmacies wishing to sell mifepristone will have to sign a form to be returned to Danco and GenBioPro, guaranteeing that they will be able to dispense the pills to patients within a maximum of four days .
For Antonia Biggs, a researcher in reproductive health issues at the University of California, San Francisco, the various certifications are unnecessary, but the FDA decision represents"a huge step" --"it brings medication abortion pills closer to people."That is unclear.