Dear John,
Add your name to the petition urging the FDA to immediately make the abortion pill much more accessible for people seeking abortions.
More than half of abortions in the U.S. are conducted using medication, according to the Guttmacher Institue, and studies have shown that mifepristone, the abortion pill approved in the U.S. for more than 20 years, is safer than commonly used drugs like Tylenol or Viagra.1 Yet, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restrictions make mifepristone hard to get—and unnecessarily so since the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Medical Association oppose the restrictions.2
The Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, so millions of women in more than half of U.S. states have or will very soon lose access to abortion. In response, President Joe Biden has ordered his health officials “to identify all ways to ensure that mifepristone is as widely accessible as possible,” according to a White House statement.
But right now, the FDA doesn't allow mifepristone to be distributed to or dispensed at pharmacies unless they have special certification—another bureaucratic hurdle that continues to limit the pill’s reach. Strict registration and stocking requirements limit the number of providers willing to carry mifepristone. The FDA needs to take urgent action to widen access to mifepristone.
Tell the FDA: It MUST immediately expand and protect abortion access by removing its unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone and regulating the safe drug like any other medication.
Sign the petition
Medical and advocacy groups have been pressuring the FDA for years to loosen restrictions on the abortion pill. Leading medical bodies have called the rules unnecessary. We must hold President Biden and the FDA accountable to his commitment to make mifepristone as widely accessible as possible, so as to reduce the harm done by right-wing, anti-choice legislation.
Right now, anti-abortion legislatures are moving quickly to prevent any one from being able to have a safe, effective, and affordable abortion. But we cannot let people in power continue to ban abortions and criminalize people who exercise their right to choose. People need to know they have options. Acquiring and using pills may carry legal risk, especially for marginalized people, you can check if it's legal in your state here: https://abortiononourownterms.org/self-managed-abortion/
Anyone who chooses this option to end their pregnancy should be able to do so safely, effectively, privately—on their own terms. Will you join the fight to protect and expand abortion access?
Sign the petition now urging the FDA to act urgently and allow pharmacies to carry mifepristone, a vital health care product, without unnecessary restrictions—and ensure accessible, high-quality health care to everyone.
It’s crucial that we create a world where every person is free from stigma and shame, and protect access to safe abortion for all.
Thanks for all you do,
— MoveOn
Sources:
1."FDA’s Own Rules Hamper Access to Abortion Pill Biden Touts,” Bloomberg Law. July 1, 2022.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/health-law-and-business/fdas-own-rules-hamper-access-to-abortion-pill-that-biden-touts
2.“The Abortion Pill Is Safer Than Tylenol and Almost Impossible to Get,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek.February 17, 2022.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-02-17/abortion-pill-mifepristone-is-safer-than-tylenol-and-almost-impossible-to-get
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG CIVIC ACTION
