As many states are imposing mandatory delays for non-essential medical care in order to shore up the healthcare system amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump has refused pro-abortion activists’ pressure to expand access to abortion-inducing drugs for women to take at home.
In spite of orders across several states, abortion facilities are largely doing business as usual, either exempted by the government as “essential” healthcare or deeming themselves essential and operating anyway.
Although the abortion industry doesn’t seem to be skipping a beat through the pandemic, Vice reported that a number of pro-abortion activists urged the Trump administration to include mail-order and telemedicine abortions with his expansion of telemedicine to prevent further spread of the virus.
Vice reports:
While telemedicine abortion specifically enables providers to prescribe abortion pills from a distance, longstanding federal regulations require that clinics dispense mifepristone, one of the two drugs commonly used together in medication abortions, in person—meaning the drugs can’t be picked up at a pharmacy or sent in the mail. An abortion patient can choose to take their medication at home, but they can’t get it without leaving their home. These federal rules prevent people from staying home and flattening the pandemic curve, an action that saves lives.
… During the COVID-19 pandemic, HHS Secretary Alex Azar could perhaps apply Trump’s telehealth mandate to medication abortion by directing the FDA to eliminate or relax its regulations, and allow pregnant people to consult with their providers virtually and obtain mifepristone via their pharmacy or in the mail. HHS’ press office didn’t respond to VICE’s requests for comment about encouraging the FDA to take action on mifepristone.
“Certain restrictions, known as a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS), are necessary for mifepristone when used for medical termination of early pregnancy in order to ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh its risks,” The Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Media Affairs told Vice.
Mifepristone, the most commonly available abortion pill, is not without risk to the mother, to say nothing of the risk to her child. Commonly-known side effects include excessive bleeding, severe abdominal pain, infection, hemorrhage, and death. According to the FDA, at least 24 women’s deaths and 4,000 serious complications have been linked to the drug.
Life News argues that the black-market versions of the drug are commonly used in forced abortions, pointing to the case of a New York City woman who allegedly sold abortion drugs to a man accused of forcing his girlfriend to take them.
We applaud the Trump administration for continuing to take a stand against pro-abortion advocates who would use the coronavirus crisis to push their agenda. We must remain steadfast in protecting all life!
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