A federal judge ruled July 13 that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, women need not abide by a Food and Drug Administration policy requiring they go to a medical facility to obtain chemical abortion drugs.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang stated that the FDA’s “in-person requirements” were a “substantial obstacle” to women seeking abortions. As a result, the ruling allows health-care providers to mail or otherwise deliver abortion pills directly to women.
Chuang stated that the in-person requirements “present a serious burden to many abortion patients,” but Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony List, argued that while the FDA’s requirements may pose an inconvenience, expanding access to chemical abortion medications can be deadly.
“The current FDA regulations are reasonable and necessary to protect women from serious and potentially life-threatening complications of abortion drugs, including intense pain, heavy bleeding, infection and even death,” she explained in a statement. “Research shows as many as five to seven percent of women who undergo chemical abortions will require follow-up surgery.”
Following Chuang’s decision, Lila Rose, president of pro-life organization Live Action, reacted on Facebook: “The abortion pill has massacred at least 24 women and 3.7 MILLION children. 134,884 people have been killed by COVID-19 and abortion advocates are fighting to add to the death toll. Detestable.”
“The abortion pill is not safe,” she added in a separate post. “The first drug starves the child to death in utero. The second drug causes heavy bleeding and cramping to expel the baby. At least 24 women have died after taking the drugs.
“Because of the threat to the lives of women,” she continued, “the FDA has Risk Evaluation & Mitigation Strategies (REMS) in place. If a woman has an ectopic pregnancy or undiagnosed health issues, the pill can kill her alongside her baby. Today, a federal judge just threw out REMS amidst COVID-19.
“Pure evil.”
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