Washington D.C., Apr 16, 2021 / 10:33 am America/Denver (CNA).
The pro-life chair of the U.S. bishops’ conference on Friday warned that loosening federal regulations of the abortion pill places women’s health “in serious jeopardy.”
Earlier this week, the acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that during the COVID-19 pandemic the agency would allow for the abortion pill regimen to be prescribed and dispensed remotely, through the mail or by mail-order pharmacies.
The new policy is a change from the FDA’s standards that have been in place since 2000, requiring the abortion pill regimen to be prescribed and dispensed in-person at a health clinic setting.
In response, Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas, chairman of the USCCB’s pro-life committee, said in a statement, “It is difficult to see the FDA’s decision to not enforce important safety protocols as anything other than callous capitulation to the requests of abortion activists without regard for the health and safety of the women involved.”
Pro-abortion groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the American Civil Liberties Union, had pushed for the FDA to loosen its regulations during the pandemic. They argued that women should have the option of accessing the abortion pill regimen without having to travel to a health clinic.