{"id":299976,"date":"2023-10-11T12:38:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-11T17:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=299976"},"modified":"2023-10-11T12:17:33","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T17:17:33","slug":"pharmacy-dispensing-abortion-pill-begun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/pharmacy-dispensing-abortion-pill-begun\/","title":{"rendered":"Pharmacy dispensing of abortion pill has begun, says drug’s generic manufacturer"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pharmacy dispensing of the abortion pill mifepristone (Mifeprex) has begun, according to the drug’s generic manufacturer GenBioPro, which published<\/a> a list of already approved “certified pharmacies” who agreed to be publicly named, according to Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And, while mail order pharmacies such as Manifest Pharmacy, HoneyBee Health, and American Online Pharmacy (AMOP<\/a>) have been dispensing the drug for some time, it remains unclear<\/a> whether chain pharmacies such as Walgreens, CVS, or Rite-Aid have finalized their certification to dispense the drug.<\/p>\n

According to Politico<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Fraser Engerman, a spokesperson for Walgreens, told POLITICO the company is \u201cin the last stages of finalizing certification,\u201d while CVS\u2019 Amy Thibault said its officials will \u201ccontinue to work through the steps\u201d of obtaining certification to dispense the drug. Those steps include securing an adequate supply of the pills, building a system that protects the privacy of patients, and verifying that only certified doctors are sending prescriptions to certified pharmacists.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Politico added that “the large pharmacy chains confirmed they have not been deterred” by the “threat of a future national rollback of the drugs,” including a lawsuit<\/a> which could limit conditions under which the drug could be dispensed to those that were in place<\/a> before 2016.<\/p>\n

Dispensing History<\/strong><\/p>\n

The abortion pill, mifepristone (200mg<\/a>), was\u00a0approved<\/a>\u00a0by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000 to be used in a regimen with a second drug called misoprostol. In 2011, the FDA made the decision to place the drug under its\u00a0REMS safety system<\/a>, but not before\u00a0multiple women had died<\/a>\u00a0in association with use of the abortion pill regimen.<\/p>\n

In April of\u00a02021<\/a>, under the auspices of the\u00a0COVID-19 pandemic<\/a>, the Biden Administration FDA temporarily enabled abortion pill distribution and\u00a0expanded<\/a> the REMS to allow limited mail-order pharmacy<\/a>\u00a0distribution<\/a>.\u00a0By\u00a0December of 2021, the Biden FDA had further\u00a0weakened<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0REMS<\/a>\u00a0by eliminating the\u00a0in-person dispensing requirement<\/a>\u00a0and enabling the abortion pill to be permanently\u00a0shipped by mail<\/a>\u00a0and ordered\u00a0virtually<\/a>, with little to no follow-up.<\/p>\n

Those FDA\u00a0modifications<\/a> required that \u201c<\/em>pharmacies that dispense the drug be certified,\u201d and a handful of mail-order pharmacies<\/em> were allowed to dispense on behalf of prescribers. These included Manifest Pharmacy, HoneyBee Health, and American Online Pharmacy (AMOP<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Then, in January 2023, the FDA further gutted the REMS by announcing it would\u00a0allow retail pharmacies to dispense the drug<\/a>. It was at this time that the FDA officially\u00a0published<\/a>\u00a0the certification process for pharmacies.<\/p>\n

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Great news regarding abortion pill access in @politico<\/a> today!<\/p>\n

"A handful of independent pharmacies across the country have quietly begun dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone under new rules created by the Biden administration earlier this year." \ud83d\udcaahttps:\/\/t.co\/GqbtkDVA73<\/a><\/p>\n

— PLANCMovie – NOW PLAYING IN THEATERS (@PlanCMovie) October 10, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n