Washington, D.C. -Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Committee Member Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, issued the following statement in response to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision to temporarily lift the medically unnecessary in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency:
“We are pleased that the FDA has temporarily lifted the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone, which will allow people seeking medication abortion to access this critical drug safely during this public health emergency. For too long, this requirement and other medically unnecessary restrictions have created barriers for people seeking medication abortion care. But this is just a first step. While the coronavirus crisis has exacerbated the harm of these restrictions, the danger they pose to people seeking care existed well before the pandemic and will remain long after we have overcome it. It is imperative the federal government make every effort to protect and expand access to safe, legal abortion in the United States-including by permanently eliminating outdated, ideological restrictions on medication abortion care."
On February 9, 2021, Chairwoman Maloney and Committee Member Pressley led all Democratic Committee congresswomen in sending a letter asking the FDA to lift the medically unnecessary in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone-a prescription medication that has been used to safely end early pregnancies in the United States for more than two decades.
On Feb. 17, 2021, Chairwoman Maloney and Committee Member Pressley published an op-ed in ELLE explaining the urgent need for FDA to lift medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion care.
