Abortion Pills To Be Sold At Retail Pharmacies: How Does It Work?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will soon allow the distribution of abortion pills to retail pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens, expanding abortion access in the country.

The FDA updated its website Tuesday to reflect the decision and said that pharmacies can start applying for certification to distribute the abortion pill mifepristone, which has been approved by the FDA to safely end a pregnancy up to 10 weeks.

The pill was previously dispensed only by a few mail-order pharmacies or by specially certified doctors or clinics. With the regulatory change, while patients will still need a prescription from a certified health care provider, any pharmacy that agrees to accept those prescriptions can dispense the pills in its stores and by mail order.

The most common medication abortion regimen in the U.S. involves two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, and can be safely used up to 11 weeks of pregnancy, according to experts.

Misoprostol, which is used for many different medical conditions, is not as tightly restricted as mifepristone and is obtained at pharmacies through a typical prescription process, according to The New York Times.

So how do abortion pills work?

Dr. Emily Godfrey, associate professor of family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, said that the first pill, mifepristone, blocks a hormone called progesterone that is needed for a pregnancy to continue and is taken by patients as a single pill.

The second step, the four-tablet misoprostol, then induces the body to pass the pregnancy, according to Godfrey.

"[Expect] within 2 to 4 hours, quite a bit of cramping and bleeding. The bleeding is going to be heavier than a period, for sure. The cramping is going to be, I say, like a really bad period," the professor noted.

While the pill can be used safely, users should still watch for signs after completing the regimen.

"If there are (menstruation) pads being filled: two an hour, for two consecutive hours. And I like to explain it as front to back, side to side, being filled – that we consider an emergency," Godfrey noted.

Should severe bleeding happen, patients are advised to contact their healthcare provider for guidance, and then go to an emergency room for treatment. This also applies to patients experiencing abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea or fever greater than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit 24 hours after using misoprostol.

Meanwhile, patients who have no bleeding at all 24 hours after taking the misoprostol pills should consider reaching out to their healthcare provider, Godfrey noted.

Abortion beyond the first 11 weeks should be performed at a clinic or hospital, the doctor added.

According to Planned Parenthood, the effectiveness of abortion pills depends on how far along the pregnancy is.

For people who are 8 weeks pregnant or less, the effectivity is around 94% to 98%, while effectivity to people who are 10 to 11 weeks pregnant is about 87%, or 98% if given an extra dose of medicine.

"Today's news is a step in the right direction for health equity," Planned Parenthood president Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement obtained by Reuters. "Being able to access your prescribed medication abortion through the mail or to pick it up in person from a pharmacy like any other prescription is a game changer for people trying to access basic health care."