The abortion lobby tells the truth about as often as they give life-affirming care — which is to say pretty much never — and the newest myth they’re peddling is that pharmacists will be selling and distributing Chemical Abortion pills unknowingly. It’s important to understand just how willfully inaccurate that false claim is, and Students for Life of America (SFLA) is here to help with that. Let’s discuss all the reasons this assertion is wrong, and some potential avenues our government can take to protect women even further:
- Selling the Chemical Abortion pills together as an abortion regimen requires a pharmacist/pharmacy to proactively get certified, and a person/business would therefore be aware if they had taken such steps.
Calling for certification for those selling Chemical Abortion pills is a long-term policy. The REMS — Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy – included certification for dispensing in 2011, notes Kaiser Health News.
Kaiser reports, “On December 16, 2021, the FDA removed the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone and expanded the distribution to certified pharmacies in addition to certified clinicians … Despite the change to the in-person requirement, prescribers are still required to be certified by the manufacturers.”
Here is what other outlets are reporting.
From Bloomberg Law: “Late last year, the FDA said that patients need only a virtual doctor visit to get the drug, permanently lifting a requirement for in-person consults that had been relaxed during the pandemic. But with that, the agency added a new requirement for the manufacturers – Danco Laboratories LLC and GenBioPro Inc. – to certify pharmacies before they can dispense the medication. Danco said in an email Tuesday that it has submitted a tentative pharmacy certification plan to the FDA, which must approve the plan before it takes effect. The company added the FDA’s timeline is ‘uncertain,’ and that it expects ‘there will be several discussions between us and the FDA before finalization.’”
From the Associated Press: “But prescribers will still need to undergo certification and training. Additionally, the agency said dispensing pharmacies will have to be certified.”
- If the drugs (mifepristone and misoprostol) are sold separately, a valid assumption is made by the pharmacist that the purpose is not abortion.
Abortion supporters often like to point out that the drugs used in combination for Chemical Abortion pills — Mifepristone and Misoprostol — have other purposes in medicine. While that’s true, it’s also irrelevant. It is the sale of these two drugs together which has been pushed by abortion-supporting politicians since Bill Clinton forced it on the market in 2000, which constitutes the sale of Chemical Abortion.
Licensed pharmacist and SFLA Campaign for Abortion Free Cities Community Organizer Mary Curtis pointed out the flaw in this argument, commenting:
“The abortion machine is at it again using one of their favorite tactics to conjure up fear in women across the nation by falsely claiming that Chemical Abortion laws will inflict an undue burden on patients who are appropriately prescribed either mifepristone or misoprostol for their other uses. The reality is that much like the ingredients required for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, unless the two medications are used TOGETHER, it is not Chemical Abortion. Otherwise, you simply have a component standing alone ready for one of its alternative uses.”
What Can Congress Do to Further Protect Against This?
- Call for Life-Saving Screenings. Congress can call for a law on Chemical Abortion pills which would require that before Chemical Abortion pills are sold, a woman is examined by taking a blood test and an ultrasound before and after taking the drugs. This would fulfill several important safety needs: It would ensure that she is not experiencing an ectopic pregnancy as the drugs won’t work in that case; that she is not too late in pregnancy as that causes a risk of death; and that after the procedure, that the abortion is complete as a partial abortion can lead to infection and death. The blood test is necessary as women who are Rh negative (which 15% of the population is) can develop antibodies from their abortion that will end future pregnancies and lead to infertility.
- Call for a National Abortion Reporting Law. While the abortion lobby claims that abortion is “safe,” in the U.S. abortion data comes voluntarily to either the Guttmacher Institute or the CDC, and some states – like California – do not report at all. When Chemical Abortion pills were first allowed on the market, tracking adverse events was part of the REMS. That has mostly fallen away and needs to be required.
- Defend the Conscience Rights of Those Who Do Not Want to Engage with Chemical Abortion. The abortion lobby wants to demand that every medical professional must be required to sell and distribute Chemical Abortion pills, but demanding that pharmacies engage in the business of abortion ignores both Constitutional Rights and marketplace realities. Those interested in the business of abortion will take the steps required to sell Chemical Abortion pills. Those who are not interested should be free to make their own choice.
Want More Resources on Chemical Abortion Pill Facts?
WATCH: You can check out SFLA’s five-part docuseries entitled “This is Chemical Abortion” produced by Charlotte Pence Bond for engaging videos that show the truth about these dangerous drugs. Click HERE to view the videos.
READ: Linked below are several articles by SFLA leaders, such as SFLA President Kristan Hawkins, which expose Chemical Abortion pills for what they really are: dangerous, untested, and a serious risk for women’s health.
The Federalist: The Left Won’t Tell Women That Abortion Can Cost Them Their Future Family
National Review: The Abortion Lobby Doubles Down on Risky Chemical-Abortion Pills
Washington Examiner: Abortion pills without Rh-testing could prevent many women from ever having children
The Federalist: Injury, Infertility, And Death From Chemical Abortions Are A-OK With The FDA