This first appeared in The Fallout. Subscribe here.
Two weeks ago, I wrote in this space about what I see as a misstep on abortion access by the Biden administration, namely efforts by the Food and Drug Administration to curb advance provision of abortion pills. Well, today, I have an exclusive update for y’all.
Abortion providers are clapping back.
In an open letter to the FDA first sent to Rewire News Group, providers have made it clear to the Biden administration that advance provision of abortion pills is quite simply good medicine.
“Abortion pills are safe and effective, and we should be making it easier to get them in the hands of people who want them,” the letter states. “The FDA, itself, acknowledges that people can safely use abortion pills prescribed after a telehealth appointment, so why shouldn’t we have the option to have abortion pills on hand in case we need them?”
We are in the throes of an escalating human rights crisis thanks to the Supreme Court, and if the midterm elections proved anything, it is that protecting abortion rights and access is more popular than ever. Democrats and the Biden administration have one really good shot to immediately tackle the harm that conservatives and the Supreme Court have unleashed. Why would they squander that chance with half-measures and narrow-minded thinking?
It’s because of abortion stigma—and the providers’ letter to the FDA says as much:
Criticism of advance provision of abortion pills by clinicians—who are offering evidenced-based health care options—is yet another example of regulators treating abortion differently from other types of health care.
My hope is that White House officials, with the midterm election results fresh on their minds, take this letter in the spirit it was intended and back away from critiquing the advance provision of abortion pills.
