Planned Parenthood has launched a new program in Washington state and Hawaii that allows women to obtain chemical abortion drugs before becoming pregnant, marking what appears to be the first initiative of its kind within the organization.
The program, called “Just In Case Abortion Pills,” provides adult patients prescriptions for the two-drug regimen through telehealth appointments or in-person visits at any of the affiliate’s 16 health centers in those states. The pills can be stored for future use, so patients can “have them on hand if and when they need them,” according to a May 21 press release from Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky.
NPR reported that it is the first time a Planned Parenthood organization has prescribed abortion drugs to patients who are not pregnant. The affiliate said in its release that it is “proud to offer safe, simple, effective medication abortion for future use.”
The move represents a new expansion of abortion pill access as chemical abortions continue to account for a growing share of abortions performed in the U.S.
Pro-life advocates have long objected to abortion drugs and expanded telehealth access, arguing that the practice normalizes at-home abortions, increases risks for women without direct medical oversight, and could leave serious complications undetected until emergency care is needed.
According to a May 22 Live Action report, the program raises questions about whether what is known as “advance provision” conflicts with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) safety regulations for mifepristone.
Live Action argued that the plan “blatantly rebuffs” the FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which requires “prescribers of the drug to have the ‘ability to assess the duration of pregnancy accurately.’” The FDA says on its website that prescribers must be able to accurately date pregnancies and diagnose ectopic pregnancies before providing the abortion drugs.
“Selling abortion pills 'just in case' a woman gets pregnant, in advance of a pregnancy, is clearly ignoring the intent of the FDA’s safety requirement,” Live Action said.
The pro-life group also noted that Planned Parenthood’s materials say the drugs can be used up to the 12th week of pregnancy, while FDA labeling approves the mifepristone-misoprostol regimen through 10 weeks.
“This is not medical science,” Live Action said in its report. “[T]his is discarding longstanding FDA requirements to achieve a political end, and at the expense of even women’s safety.”
>> Supreme Court allows mail-order abortions to continue as pro-life case proceeds <<