Biden Cancels Trump Again With Reversal Of Abortion Policy

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With the Biden administration long in place, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now lifted a previous punitive requirement for the in-person pick-up of abortion-inducing medications. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration had resisted allowing abortion-inducing medications to be sent via the mail, which meant that women seeking the drugs had to go in-person — no matter how far away that they were from a pharmaceutical facility and no matter how many other medications were permitted to be sent through the mail.

NARAL President Ilyse Hogue shared the promising news on Twitter this Tuesday. As she put it:

‘Good news this morning: Biden’s FDA has suspended the in person requirement to get medication abortion. Trump allowed most prescriptions to go through mail during the pandemic, even highly addictive ones, but kept the medication rule in place. Not for science, for punishment.’

The Trump administration’s requirement posed problems. As Hogue added:

‘There’s no medical need to pick up medication abortion in person. Anti-choice pols want to shame and put hardship in the way of women seeking abortion. These rules are arbitrary and cruel and always affect those with least access — rural folks, folks with no transport. Biden’s FDA lifting this rule will have material impact, ease stress and create more access for those who need abortion. It’s a big deal.’

The Biden administration has already moved to undo other vestiges of the Trump administration’s approach to healthcare policy. For instance, they formally reversed the federal position in a court case in which the Trump administration had backed the complete elimination of the Affordable Care Act despite the fact that Trump’s team had no replacement plan ready to go. Amidst the pandemic, the Biden administration has also reopened and extended the enrollment period for Affordable Care Act health plans — and over half a million Americans and counting have signed up for health coverage during this extended period, so there was clearly a need to be met.

Elsewhere in the federal government, the Biden administration has worked to dismantle Trump’s legacy of chaos through means including an end to wall construction at the southern border, a re-examination of controversially lax emissions standards for vehicles, an expansion of the child tax credit to support families in need during the pandemic, and more.