Data lab: US allows abortion pill sale at pharmacies; its significance amid shifting abortion landscape

Mifepristone, a medication used for abortions, can now be purchased from US pharmacies owing to a decision of the Joe Biden administration.The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised retailpharmacies to dispense mifepristone as long as a licensed medical professional writes the prescription and the pharmacy complies with specified criteria. In light of the US Supreme Court's decision to overrule Roe v. Wade and a woman's long-establishedright to decide who controls her body, this newdevelopment is of muchpertinence.

What is mifepristone? Why is it important?

Pharmacies can now sell the abortion drug mifepristone, according to a decision by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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As reported by theBBC, mifepristone is frequently used in combination with another medicine called misoprostol to induce a medical abortion. Mifepristone inhibits progesterone, a hormone required for a pregnancy to proceed. It is used to stop pregnancies up to 10 weeks’ gestation when combined withmisoprostol (70 days or less since the first day of the last menstrual period).

It is crucial to notethat women will require a prescription in order to buy mifepristone.

Many pregnant women living in places where abortion is now prohibited as a result of the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade are likely to turn to medication abortion, by using the abortion pill. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA began allowing the pills to be sent via mail.

There are two safe methods of terminating a pregnancy: an in-person procedure and the abortion pill. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organisation that specialises in sexual and reproductive health, medication abortions presently account for half of all abortions performed in the United States.

*Hover over the visualisation/click on it for the figures*

The abortion pill is anticipated to become an even more significant choice now that in-clinic abortion services are prohibited or threatened in more than half of the US states.

Maternal and infant death rates are higher in states that ban or restrict abortion, report says

US states that now ban or restrict abortions have far higher rates of maternal and newborn mortality than those that maintain access to abortion care, whether it be during pregnancy, at birth, or after delivery.

Also watch |USFDA allows the sale of abortion pills at retail pharmacies

Following this summer's Roe v. Wade ruling by the Supreme Court, the researchers compared rates depending on states' existing abortion access rules as of November utilising the most recent data available, from 2020 and earlier, on deaths and other health effects.

Maternal mortality rates were 62% higher in states with restricted access to abortion services in 2020 than in ones with unrestricted access. States with new abortion restrictions had a double-digit rise in maternal mortality between 2018 and 2020,according to the report released Wednesday by the research foundation Commonwealth Fund.

How many clinics offer abortions in the United States, and how has that number varied over time?

*Hover over the visualisation/click on it for the figures*

Since the 1980s, the overall number of abortion providers has sharply declined. There were 2,908 facilities in the US that performed abortions in 1982, including 789 clinics, 1,405 hospitals, and 714 doctor's offices, according to Guttmacher. The figures stand at 261 doctor's offices, 518 hospitals, and 808 clinics now.

Mifepristone andabortion rights activists

Abortion rights activists and doctors’ groups have welcomed the move.“Today’s news is a step in the right direction for health equity,” Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement.

“Being able to access your prescribed medication abortion through the mail or to pick it up in person from a pharmacy like any other prescription is a game changer for people trying to access basic health care,” Johnson added.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists were quoted by the BBC as saying,“Although the FDA’s announcement today will not solve access issues for every person seeking abortion care, it will allow more patients who need mifepristone for medication abortion additional options to secure this vital drug.”

In contrast,Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of the anti-abortion organisation SBA Pro-Life America, asserted that the most recent FDA action puts women's safety and the lives of unborn children in danger.

“State lawmakers and Congress must stand as a bulwark against the Biden administration’s pro-abortion extremism,” she said in a statement.

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