Abortion Pill Can Be Dispensed in Retail Pharmacies, FDA Says

The FDA is now permitting mifepristone (Mifeprex), one of two drugs used for medication abortion, to be dispensed in retail pharmacies, the agency announced on Tuesday.

Prior to this announcement, mifepristone could only be dispensed by some mail-order pharmacies, or in person by specially certified providers. This week’s decision will allow patients to pick up the abortion pill at brick-and-mortar locations, including local drugstores or chain pharmacies like CVS or Walgreens.

The decision to further relax restrictions on mifepristone was announced by the FDA in a set of questions and answers released on its website Tuesday. The rule will not apply to pharmacies in the roughly dozen states that have near-total abortion bans, as well as those that restrict access to the abortion pill.

Pharmacies who want to stock and dispense mifepristone must still undergo a special certification process, and abide by a specific set of criteria, to provide the drug. However, as medication abortion accounts for more than half of abortions in the U.S., reproductive health advocates say that this decision will vastly improve access.

“This change will empower patients who choose medication abortion to have the option of going to a pharmacy for immediate care rather than waiting for a mail order if that is right for them,” said Iffath Abbasi Hoskins, MD, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), in a statement.