• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Elizabeth Scalia
          • Michael R. Heinlein
          • Effie Caldarola
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Mark Viviano
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • CR Media platforms
        • Electronic Edition
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
        • Magazine Subscriptions
        • Archdiocesan Directory
  • CR Radio
        • CR Radio
        • Protagonistas de Fe
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
A box of the RU-486 drug, known generically as mifepristone and by its brand name Mifeprex, is seen in an undated handout photo. The U.S. FDA has approved distributing of the abortion pill through retail pharmacies, a move that could transform the US abortion industry and poses new challenges to the church's pro-life ministry. (OSV News photo/courtesy Danco Laboratories)

FDA permits retail pharmacies to dispense abortion drugs, prompting criticism from Catholic, pro-life groups

January 5, 2023
By Kate Scanlon
OSV News
Filed Under: Feature, News, Respect Life, World News

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will allow retail pharmacies to offer abortion pills in the United States for the first time, the agency announced Jan. 3, prompting criticism from Catholic and pro-life groups.

The Biden administration’s rule change comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that struck down the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, enabling many states to restrict abortion access.

The regulatory change permits the sale of mifepristone, the first of two drugs used in a chemical abortion, at retail pharmacies. The drug could previously only be dispensed by some mail-order pharmacies, or by some doctors or abortion centers.

The rule change ends a previous in-person requirement for its dispersal. The new FDA rules still require a prescription for the drugs, but will permit a wider range of pharmacies to stock and sell them.

Medication abortions are becoming a more common method of abortion, accounting for more than half of the abortions in the United States, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research center relied on by the abortion industry and advocacy groups.

Some Catholic and other pro-life groups have expressed concern about the safety of the drug. In a document outlining its opposition to expanding access to the drug for abortions, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops argued that the FDA rejects safeguards governing its use that are in place in other countries, noting that in Sweden, for example, a woman undergoing a medication abortion would be “supervised by the midwife for 4 to 6 hours at the outpatient clinic.”

The FDA has called mifepristone “safe when used as indicated and directed.”

In a statement, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said: “The Biden administration has once again proved that it values abortion industry profits over women’s safety and unborn children’s lives.”

“Abortion activists want to turn every post office and pharmacy into an abortion business, and the Biden FDA is a willing participant — even while studies show emergency rooms are being flooded with women suffering from serious, life-threatening complications caused by abortion drugs,” Dannenfelser said. “Chemical abortion pills can cause dangerous complications including hemorrhage and infection, and complications are more likely when pills are dispensed without medical screening or follow-up care.”

Dannenfelser said that some pro-life governors “understand this threat, which is why many states have enacted safeguards to protect women and their unborn children.”

“State lawmakers and Congress must stand as a bulwark against the Biden administration’s pro-abortion extremism,” Dannenfelser said. “We hope to see the FDA do its job to protect the lives of women and put an end to chemical abortions.”

Kate Scanlon is a National Reporter for OSV News covering Washington.

Read More Respect Life

Texas woman sues ex-partner, abortion pill provider, alleging she was given drugs without consent

Judge blocks religious exemption to birth control coverage; Little Sisters of the Poor to appeal

Baltimore NBCC leader among People of Life awards winners

Patrick Brice sentenced to home detention for attacks on elderly pro-life supporters

Catholic family experts tie marriage to dropping U.S. fertility rate

Trump administration moves to reinstate VA health policy fully excluding abortion

Copyright © 2023 OSV News

Print Print

Share
Share on Facebook
Share
Share this
Pin
Pin this
Share
Share on LinkedIn

Primary Sidebar

Kate Scanlon

Click here to view all posts from this author

For the latest news delivered twice a week via email or text message, sign up to receive our free enewsletter.

| MOST POPULAR |

  • Mary’s assumption: The long-held belief was declared dogma 75 years ago

  • Statue of Confederate general known as anti-Catholic to be reinstalled in nation’s capital

  • Project PLASE hopes Beacon House Square shines a light in Southwest Baltimore 

  • Analysis: At 100 days, Pope Leo’s papacy rooted in St. Augustine, reflection, unity

  • Gun buyback exceeds expectations, previous totals

| Latest Local News |

Project PLASE hopes Beacon House Square shines a light in Southwest Baltimore 

Baltimore NBCC leader among People of Life awards winners

Gun buyback exceeds expectations, previous totals

Radio Interview: The situation in Gaza with Catholic Near East Welfare Association

Patrick Brice sentenced to home detention for attacks on elderly pro-life supporters

| Latest World News |

Archbishop Gudziak: Trump-Putin summit fails to advance peace, justice

Father Lafleur: Forgotten story of chaplain to POWs in WWII and his ‘incredible selflessness’

This Colorado teen died saving others in a school shooting — is he a future saint?

Analysis: At 100 days, Pope Leo’s papacy rooted in St. Augustine, reflection, unity

Praying for peace, pope encourages people to look to Mary with hope

| Catholic Review Radio |

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Real Life. Real Faith. 

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Archbishop Gudziak: Trump-Putin summit fails to advance peace, justice
  • Pope Leo’s Tears at Mass
  • This Colorado teen died saving others in a school shooting — is he a future saint?
  • Father Lafleur: Forgotten story of chaplain to POWs in WWII and his ‘incredible selflessness’
  • Analysis: At 100 days, Pope Leo’s papacy rooted in St. Augustine, reflection, unity
  • Praying for peace, pope encourages people to look to Mary with hope
  • OSV ends periodical publications in ‘strategic shift’ to OSV News, other initiatives
  • ‘Christianity is about being present in suffering,’ director of new film about St. Kolbe says
  • Pope Leo’s first 100 days: Leaning into his new role

Search

Membership

Catholic Media Assocation

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2025 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

en Englishes Spanish
en en