NC Family Staff | December 20, 2021 | SHARE: 
What was previously a temporary, COVID-era regulation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been made permanent and now allows women across the country to conduct their own chemical abortions without ever seeing a doctor. The FDA announced last Thursday that it is lifting the requirement that the first pill (mifepristone) in the two-part abortion drug regimen be dispensed in-person. Now, women nationwide can receive both abortion pills through the mail and perform their own abortions at home.
As NC Family shared this past April, the FDA “temporarily” lifted its restriction on tele-med abortion pill prescriptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and while this change did not subvert North Carolina’s current state law requiring in-person prescription, it did impact women in other states that do not have similar laws in place.
The FDA’s announcement last week clears the way for “certified healthcare providers” to prescribe abortion pills online and send them via mail anywhere in the country. Some companies have said they will even disregard state-level laws and regulations and ship the medication wherever there are “women who need access to safe abortions.” So, while North Carolina’s law requiring the first pill in the two-part regimen to be dispensed in person remains in place, enforcement is likely to become difficult.
While the FDA argues that “the benefits of the product outweigh the risks,” this is far from true; the risks of chemical abortions to the baby and the mother cannot be overstated. The two-part abortion drug regimen—also referred to as RU-486—consists of mifepristone, which is administered to starve the unborn baby of progesterone, and then misoprostol, which causes cramping and is intended to expel the dead baby from the womb. Common complications include severe cramping, bleeding, and even hemorrhaging. Furthermore, having these procedures performed at home drastically increases the risk for infection, as well as other physical and mental health issues.
NC Family joins pro-life organizations and individuals across the nation in condemning and lamenting this expansion of the barbaric practice of abortion. As our colleagues at ERLC said, “Christians must recognize that this is further evidence that it is not enough just to make abortion illegal. We must convince the culture that the destruction of life is unthinkable.”
