• The abortion debate is shifting to focus on executive-branch actions that influence the availability of abortion drugs.
• The Biden administration has taken multiple steps to expand access to the drugs used in medication abortions, which now account for more than half of all abortions performed in the United States.
• Anti-abortion activists are growing frustrated with the increased reliance on the drugs and are pressing the Republican presidential candidates in 2024 for more forceful action.
• The Biden administration has loosened restrictions on the drugs, allowing women to consult with a doctor via telehealth and then receive the pills via mail.
• The FDA has also allowed pharmacies to dispense the drugs, but 19 red states have passed laws that still require medical professionals to be present when the drugs are administered.
• Republicans are launching a multifront attempt to roll back access to the pills nationwide, including a lawsuit to overturn the original certification and ban mifepristone.
• Abortion-rights advocates are pushing the Biden administration to loosen restrictions even further, such as eliminating the requirement that the professionals prescribing the drugs receive a special certification.
• The issue of access to abortion drugs is likely to shape the 2024 election, with Democrats generally confident they will benefit from any contrast that keeps abortion prominent in the race.
Published January 20, 2023
Visit The Atlantic to read Ronald Brownstein’s original post Abortion Pills Will Be the Next Battle in the 2024 Election
