[Washington Examiner] Government regulation of the chemical abortion pill has changed dramatically in recent weeks.Last month, a federal judge ruled that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, an abortion provider should not have to require that a pregnant woman be seen in person by medical staff in order to obtain abortion drugs. Even though it was the abortion industry challenging this existing regulation, not patients, the ruling by Maryland U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang stated that the "in-person requirements" posed a "substantial obstacle" to women seeking abortions. As a result, the ruling allows abortion businesses to sell abortion pills directly to pregnant women without any in-person evaluation.
Expanded access to chemical abortion pills was an important goal for the abortion industry even before the pandemic. In 2017, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit to make abortion pills available without a visit to the doctor. In 2008, telemed abortions became available in Iowa. During a telemed abortion, women obtain abortion pills after interacting with a physician remotely. As of 2019, Planned Parenthood was offering telemed abortions in 10 states.
Indeed, during the past 20 years, the abortion pill has become more common in the United States. Even though the overall U.S. abortion rate has been declining, the number of chemical abortions is increasing. According to the most recent data from the Guttmacher Institute, the annual number of chemical abortions in the U.S. increased by over 400% between 2001 and 2017. Furthermore, the share of abortions committed with the abortion pill regimen increased from 5% to 39% between 2001 and 2018.
