Washington D.C., Jan 9, 2023 / 14:30 pm
The U.S. Catholic bishops are challenging the Biden administration after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced for the first time that pharmacies can distribute abortion drugs.
“The FDA should protect the life and health of both mothers and children, not loosen safety standards under industry or political pressures,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, the chair of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said Friday. “We call on the administration to correct its policy priorities and stand with mothers in need.”
Burbidge’s statement was in response to the FDA’s new decision to allow any patient with a prescription to obtain the drug mifepristone from her local retail pharmacy if it is appropriately certified to dispense it.
The FDA first approved mifepristone, which is paired with another drug called misoprostol, for earlier abortions in 2000. Taken by pill, this type of abortion — approved by the FDA for use up to 10 weeks of gestation — is also referred to as abortion pills, chemical abortion, medication abortion, and telemedicine abortion.