The FDA Could Improve Abortion Access Under Coronavirus But It Won't

When Donald Trump used “two very big words” to declare a national emergency over the novel coronavirus on Friday, he bragged about giving his top health official the “ability to waive laws to enable telehealth” during the pandemic. But it appears that the president’s latitude will not apply to medication abortion care, a federal agency confirmed to VICE.

People who want to end their pregnancies will have to navigate the same restrictions as always, which will become all the more complicated in a pandemic environment.

While telemedicine abortion specifically enables providers to prescribe abortion pills from a distance, longstanding federal regulations require that clinics dispense mifepristone, one of the two drugs commonly used together in medication abortions, in person—meaning the drugs can't be picked up at a pharmacy or sent in the mail. An abortion patient can choose to take their medication at home, but they can’t get it without leaving their home. These federal rules prevent people from staying home and flattening the pandemic curve, an action that saves lives.