(Catholic Herald).
A decision by the United States Supreme Court relaxing chemical abortion drug regulations will put the “health of women and girls at risk,” according to the U.S. bishops. The 9-0 decision was made in the FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case, which had aimed to roll back access to mifepristone, one of the two drugs used in medication abortions. In 2000, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug application for mifepristone tablets marketed under the brand name Mifeprex for use in performing abortions for up to seven weeks. To help ensure that Mifeprex would be used safely and effectively, FDA placed additional restrictions on the drug’s use and distribution, for example requiring doctors to prescribe or to supervise prescription of Mifeprex, and requiring patients to have three in-person visits with the doctor to receive the drug. In 2021, FDA announced that it would no longer enforce the initial in-person visit requirement.