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 (FDA) announcing an evidence-based review of the in-person dispensing requirement for the medication abortion drug mifepristone:
“We applaud FDA for taking this necessary step toward policies that are rooted in science. The harmful and unnecessary in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone prevents people-particularly those harmed by longstanding health inequities-from receiving safe, effective reproductive health care. That is why we have consistently called on FDA to permanently lift this requirement. People deserve comprehensive reproductive health care, and the federal government must make every effort to protect and expand access to safe, legal abortion in the United States."
On February 9, 2021, Chairwoman Maloney and Rep. Pressley led all Democratic Committee congresswomen in sending a letter urging FDA to lift the medically unnecessary in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone.
On Feb. 17, 2021, Chairwoman Maloney and Rep. Pressley published an op-ed in ELLE explaining the urgent need for FDA to lift this medically unnecessary restriction on medication abortion care.
On April 13, 2021, FDA announced that it would temporarily lift the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone for the duration of the coronavirus public health emergency. Chairwoman Maloney and Rep. Pressley commended FDA’s decision and urged the agency to permanently eliminate the requirement.
