For the first time, medication abortion now makes up the majority of abortions in the United States, according to data released [February 24] by the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive rights organization.
According to the institute’s survey of known abortion providers in the U.S., 54% of abortions in 2020 were done by medication abortion, a process that involves taking two pills.
In most cases in a medication abortion, mifepristone is taken first to stop the pregnancy from growing. Then, a second pill, misoprostol, is taken to empty the uterus.
Of the two medications, mifepristone is more restricted by the FDA. Since 2011, the agency had applied a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) to mifepristone, preventing it from being distributed at pharmacies or delivered by mail like other prescription drugs.
In December, under the Biden administration, the FDA permanently lifted its restriction on mifepristone.
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Proponents of the FDA’s decision to lift its restriction on mifepristone say that allowing greater access to medication abortion, including via telemedicine, gives more options to the people who need them the most.
Around 75% of abortion patients are low-income residents, and nearly 60% of U.S. women of reproductive age live in states where access to abortion is restricted, according to Guttmacher.
