UNC doctor fights back against NC restrictions on FDA-approved abortion pill

A UNC doctor is fighting back in federal court against North Carolina's restrictions on a prescription pill that can terminate a pregnancy, saying the restrictions could harm patients.

According to court documents, Dr. Amy Bryant claims N.C.'s restrictions on mifepristone abortion pills "conflict with federal law and upset the regulatory balance struck by the FDA."

CNN reports the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently got rid of restrictions that required patients to pick up the pill in-person from their doctor. Now, according to the FDA, certified pharmacies can dispense the abortion medication to people who have a verified prescription -- just like many other prescription drugs.

The lawsuit states, "Under the North Carolina restrictions, instead of seeing patients in an office setting (or remotely via telehealth), and having the option of either dispensing the medications or providing a prescription for a patient to fill from a pharmacy so that the patient may take the medication at the place of their choosing."

N.C. doctors are being asked to provide the abortion pill themselves "in person and be present when it is administered in a specially certified facility."

Bryant claims those restrictions "interfere with her ability to provide medical care to her patients, according to her best medical judgment and in accordance with federal law," adding she could provide the prescriptions to more patients at a lower cost without them.

The document states, "Medication abortion is inherently time-critical, and delaying such care can unnecessarily increase risk or even push patients outside the window for use of mifepristone, potentially forcing patients to have more involved and more expensive procedures (which will present heightened risks for some patients)."

CNN reports mifepristone can be used along with another medication, misoprostol, to end a pregnancy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA allowed the pills to be sent through the mail and said it would no longer enforce a rule requiring people to get the first of the two drugs in person at a clinic or hospital.

Earlier in January, the in-person requirement was permanently removed, CNN reports, and pharmacies can dispense the drug to anyone with a prescription. The updated information was posted on the FDA's website.

Laws vary by state, but the medications can be taken up to 11 weeks after the first day of the last menstrual period.

Medication abortion is used in more than half of abortions in the U.S., outpacing surgical procedures for the first time in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.

Following the reversal of Roe v. Wade last year, the United States Postal Service sought the advice of the Office of Legal Counsel on whether federal law prohibits the mailing of mifepristone and misoprostol.

In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement promising to work with the FDA and other federal agencies to protect access to such drugs, which some states have sought to ban.

"States may not ban Mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA's expert judgment about its safety and efficacy," Garland said in a statement.

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