Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a case which could significantly impact access to and regulation of abortion pills.
Chemical, sometimes known as medication, abortions consist of a two-drug protocol a woman takes to terminate her pregnancy. These drugs are currently available through the mail with no medical oversight before, during, or after the process.
Yes, you read that right.
The time of DIY abortions is upon us, and the FDA has made it easier than ever. In this latest legal battle, a group of pro-life doctors and medical organizations are challenging the FDA’s removal of safeguards for one of the abortion drugs, Mifepristone.
According to Pregnancy Help News, Mifepristone, which blocks progesterone to the developing baby, was approved by the FDA in 2000 to be prescribed in-person for abortion through the 7th week of pregnancy. In 2016, the FDA not only approved the pill being prescribed through the 10th week of pregnancy, but also removed the requirement that only physicians could prescribe the drug, and no longer required women to take the first pill under medical oversight in a clinic.
Then in 2021, the FDA eliminated the in-person dispensing requirement permanently and allowed for the drug to be sent via mail. And even though abortion is illegal in Missouri, this is happening here. Most recently, in 2023, the FDA went even further by allowing retail pharmacies, such as Walgreens and CVS, to dispense the drug.
Now the Supreme Court will decide whether the FDA’s actions were lawful. But regardless of the outcome of this case, we at PCC see the tragic results of unregulated access to chemical abortions day in and day out.
Our team of registered nurses regularly receive calls and texts from young women who have been told that self-inducing an abortion is safe, even without ever talking to a physician. They aren’t told that, for their own safety, they need an ultrasound to rule out ectopic pregnancy ─ a condition for which immediate medical attention is required. When ordering the pills online, they often don’t know who or where the pills are coming from. And when they do have medical complications, they don’t know where to turn since a doctor was never involved in the process.
This is just one glaring example of why PCC’s approach always has been and always will be firmly rooted in compassion. We all know how abortion impacts babies. But are we willing to recognize what abortion does to women and men?
Are we willing to play the long game where we love all the people impacted by an unplanned pregnancy? And are we willing to trust God with the outcomes of our prayers and work? Even when it’s messy. Even when abortion proponents get creative. Even when court decisions don’t go our way.
I can practically see you nodding your head, resolute in our shared commitment to keep on keeping on. I know how you answer those questions because you partner with PCC. In fact, my husband, Steve, and I began partnering with PCC long before I came on staff precisely because we believed that the only way to truly create a culture of life ─ to save lives and strengthen families ─ was to choose compassion and give hope to those who need it most.
No matter the ruling on this, or any other, Supreme Court case, we will continue to show the love of Jesus to our clients by offering lifesaving and life-changing services ─ and it’s all possible because of your faithful partnership.
Thank you and God bless you,
Lisa McIntire, CPA
Executive Director
