FDA Opposes Doctors’ Request to Ease Access to Abortion Pill

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration shouldn’t be blocked from requiring that a drug used to induce abortions must be dispensed in person at a hospital, clinic, or doctor’s office, the agency told a federal court in Maryland.

The in-person dispensing requirement addresses serious health risks associated with mifepristone, one of a two-drug regimen used in medication abortions, the agency said in a brief Wednesday. FDA urged the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland to deny a motion for a preliminary injunction that would require it to allow women to receive the drug through the mail.

The American ...