John—
As a practicing OB-GYN, I know reproductive healthcare is singled out, stigmatized, and attacked. The impact is devastating. To make matters worse, anti-choice politicians are now weaponizing stay-at-home orders intended to keep people safe to block patients like mine from getting the care they need.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion, even more limited. It’s essential that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lift medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone NOW.
Mifepristone is the drug used for medication abortion and miscarriage care. Used in over a third of abortion proceedures nationwide, numerous studies prove mifepristone is safe and effective.1
Will you add your name to this petition demanding that the FDA remove medically unnecessary restrictions on one of the safest, most effective drugs on the market? Your support will help expand abortion access in this time of crisis.
Due to the restrictions on mifepristone, only pre-approved clinicians are allowed to dispense this safe and proven medication. Without pre-approval, your doctor can’t write a prescription in the office or in the emergency room. The local pharmacy can’t even stock mifepristone.
In this time of pandemic, lifting the restrictions on mifepristone will help address the crisis of abortion access — especially for people experiencing poverty, those who live in rural areas, and people of color. Abortion access, already severely restricted in many states, is even more difficult during the COVID-19 crisis. Patients are scared and confused.
Continuing to restrict a safe, effective medication is a cynical, politically-motivated move. It’s only intended to further the anti-choice movement’s ultimate goal of banning abortion and controlling our bodies.
Add your name to NARAL Pro-Choice America’s petition demanding that the FDA remove medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion now.
The medical community endorses lifting these restrictions on mifepristone.
Former FDA commissioner Dr. Jane Henney co-authored a New England Journal of Medicine article proposing the restrictions be lifted. My colleagues in the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists endorse lifting the restrictions that interfere with our ability to deliver the highest quality of patient care.2,3
As the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened, anti-choice governors and attorneys general have tried to use stay-at-home orders as a smokescreen to ban abortion by describing abortion as “non-essential” healthcare. As a doctor, I want to stop government interference in healthcare. Decisions that belong to patients and their providers must be determined by good medical science — not political ideology.
Add your name to NARAL Pro-Choice America’s petition demanding the FDA remove medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion now.
Doctors, physician’s assistants, nurses, midwives, and other healthcare providers' first priority is to provide compassionate, effective medical care to our patients.
I trust my patients to know what’s best for their own lives and circumstances — and if someone decides to end a pregnancy, I offer the safest, most effective treatment available to ensure they can determine the best course for their lives and futures.
Political interference is making it harder and harder for medical professionals to provide essential, time-sensitive reproductive healthcare. We can’t be silent while politicians tell doctors and patients what is and isn’t essential healthcare.
Add your name to call on the FDA to lift mifepristone restrictions here.
Thank you for taking action,
Sara Imershein MD, MPH, FACOG
Board member, NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation
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