{"id":223377,"date":"2020-05-14T12:45:47","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T17:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=223377"},"modified":"2020-05-15T13:21:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-15T18:21:03","slug":"groups-sneak-abortion-pill-pharmacies-other-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/groups-sneak-abortion-pill-pharmacies-other-conditions\/","title":{"rendered":"Abortion groups work to sneak abortion pill into pharmacies worldwide under guise of treating other conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gynuity Health Projects\u2014a pro-abortion research group working to increase access<\/a>\u00a0to the abortion pill\u2014wants the pill used to treat conditions unrelated to abortion.\u00a0Getting the abortion pill approved to treat medical conditions means it will be easier to get the pill into countries where abortion is illegal, and where the abortion pill is banned.<\/p>\n

Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC) revealed this strategy in a\u00a0webinar<\/a>, which includes a\u00a0presentation<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0video<\/a>.\u00a0Gynuity received<\/a> a $108k\u00a0grant<\/a> from the\u00a0RHSC\u2019s Innovation Fund<\/a>\u00a0to conduct \u201ca landscape analysis that will identify market gaps, bottlenecks, and potential country-level opportunities to register and commercialize mifepristone for its other indications.\u201d<\/p>\n

Formed in 2004<\/a>, RHSC took off in 2012 when it\u00a0became involved<\/a> in the Gates-funded Family Planning 2020 initiative. The\u00a0coalition includes<\/a>\u00a0the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the\u00a0Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health<\/a>, the\u00a0David and Lucile Packard Foundation<\/a>, DKT International<\/a>, GenBioPro<\/a>, the Guttmacher Institute, Ibis Reproductive Health<\/a>, Planned Parenthood, and the\u00a0Population Council<\/a>. Its current executive committee<\/a> includes representatives from the Population Council, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the United Nations Population Fund.<\/p>\n

Jennifer Blum<\/a>, Gynuity\u2019s VP for Programs and Strategic Initiatives, and\u00a0former Program Officer for the Packard Foundation\u2014a \u00a0major early investor in the manufacturer of the abortion pill\u2014said in the webinar that registering the abortion pill to treat conditions unrelated to abortion is to \u201cbypass hurdles.\u201d Blum noted, \u201cThe number of countries with mifepristone [the abortion pill] is increasing but in places with restrictive abortion laws, access remains challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the \u201cknown\u201d indications such as \u201cincomplete abortion, missed abortion, second-trimester abortion, [and intra-uterine fetal death],\u201d the webinar notes that there is interest in labeling the drug \u201cspecifically for menstrual regulation\u201d in places like West Africa and South America.<\/p>\n

\"Image:

Gynuity webinar Mifepristone indications slide.<\/p><\/div>\n

Gynuity\u00a0Senior Program Associate Laura Frye<\/a>\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0a \u201ctangible briefing document<\/a>,\u201d summarizing a list of additional indications that would get mifepristone into pharmacies around the world. The document states (emphasis added):<\/p>\n

One strategy to increase availability and market sustainability of mifepristone is to register it for additional indications. Several of these \u201cuncontroversial\u201d indications are legal in most jurisdictions and could provide an entry point<\/strong> for the medication to be listed on national drug registries, stocked in hospitals and other health care facilities, and integrated into health care systems. <\/em><\/p>\n

In countries where there are highly restricted legal indications for abortion and\/or where opposition to abortion on request impacts drug registration regulatory processes, focusing on other indications may eliminate some hurdles to product registration<\/strong>. Additionally, in the face of constrained health care budgets, medications that address multiple indications may be more appealing for purchase by health systems.<\/em><\/p>\n

The group expressed the importance of selecting medical conditions that would require the same dosages needed for effective chemical abortions as \u201ca segway to registering the same 200mg tablets\u201d for a chemical abortion. Blum then\u00a0claimed other abortion pill stakeholders have an interest in exploring this expansion option but have little time or money to develop or implement a strategy. Those stakeholders include:<\/p>\n