SW News: US Catholic bishops have questioned the Biden administration after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared for the first time that pharmacists can sell abortion medicines.
Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, the head of the bishops' Committee on Pro-Life Activities, stated on Friday that the FDA should safeguard the lives and health of both mothers and children rather than relax safety regulations in response to pressure from businesses or government.
They urged the administration to change its policy priorities and support women in need. Burbidge's statement was in response to the FDA's recent decision to permit any patient with a prescription to buy the medication mifepristone from any neighborhood retail drugstore if it has the necessary certification to distribute it.
According to the “Fact Sheet: Risks and Complications of Chemical Abortion” published by the Charlotte Lozier Institute on July 19, 2022, chemical abortion has a complication rate four times that of surgical abortion, and as many as one out of five women will suffer a complication.
The report states that three to seven out of every hundred women who choose chemical abortion early in pregnancy will need follow-up care to finish the abortion, with as many as 7-10% needing follow-up care for chemical abortions in the first trimester after 63 days of pregnancy and up to 39% requiring surgery if accidentally taken in the second trimester.
There are social and emotional risks. Abusers and traffickers may obtain abortion pills if there is no medical supervision. There have already been reports of women receiving abortion drugs against their choice and without their knowledge. If the drugs are sold online without a doctor's visit from the lady, the likelihood of coerced abortions would rise. The risks of chemical abortions extend beyond the body; according to women, having a chemical abortion has left them feeling unprepared, silent, regretful, or powerless.
Meanwhile, pro-life group Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU) will hold nationwide protests at pharmacy store chains CVS and Walgreens locations in key cities across the nation on Saturday, February 4. They have tweeted their demand for keeping abortion pills out of pharmacies.
“Baby killing is poised to extend to CVS and Walgreens stores. Both pharmacy chains are in the process of converting their retail locations to become abortion businesses by selling and dispensing the abortion pill,” they tweeted.