Biden FDA ends in-person mifepristone requirement allowing mail-order medication abortion

The Biden FDA announces it will cease enforcing the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone during the COVID pandemic, effectively allowing the abortion pill to be prescribed via telehealth and mailed to patients for the first time. Prior to this change, patients had to obtain mifepristone in person from a certified healthcare provider. The FDA formalizes this change permanently in January 2023, allowing retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone with a prescription. The change dramatically expands abortion access, particularly in states with limited clinic access, and becomes a major tool for people in states that later ban abortion post-Dobbs. Republican states and anti-abortion groups file multiple lawsuits challenging the FDA approval of mifepristone.