The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) first approved mifepristone in the United States in September 2000 for medical termination of early pregnancy. At that time, the original approval was for use up to seven weeks of gestation, but it was later expanded in 2016 to cover use up to 10 weeks (70 days) of gestation when used in combination with misoprostol.
"When chemical abortions were made legal, women who wanted to have an abortion or have a chemical abortion had to have an in-person visit with a health professional," notes Michael New, PhD, an assistant professor of practice at the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America and a senior associate scholar at the Charlotte Lozier Institute.
"That policy changed during the pandemic," he adds.
In 2023, during the Joe Biden administration, the FDA modified the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) program to allow dispensing through certified pharmacies and telemedicine, removing the prior in-person requirement.
"The FDA allowed women seeking chemical abortions to get one via telehealth, where they would see a health professional through Zoom or some other online platform and have the pills mailed to her," New summarizes. "The Biden administration continued that unwise policy."
He says telehealth abortions are the reason Planned Parenthood is reporting record-high abortion numbers, though it continues to close abortion centers across the country. The Trump administration could change this policy, but nothing has been announced so far.
"They could stop telehealth abortions tomorrow. They could put the old rules, the old safeguards back in place," New explains. "They have not done so."
He tells AFN telehealth abortions are weakening and undermining the strong pro-life laws many states passed after Dobbs overturned Roe v. Wade, and according to recent data, they are endangering women and girls.
The Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee wants the FDA to reinstate the removed safety protocols, particularly the in-person dispensing requirement.
Until and unless that happens, New says, "It's just the Wild West out there."
