Washington State has started a program that lets pharmacists prescribe pills for abortion, making it the first of its kind. Other states are likely to follow.
In an effort to protect access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, pharmacists in Washington state are now taking on the role of prescribing abortion pills instead of just providing the medication.
The groundbreaking program called the Pharmacist Abortion Access Project (PAAP)—it was launched by Uplift International, a leading advocate for global health and human rights—is a small pilot program only in Washington state right now, but the plan is to try it out in other states where abortion is also still legal.
“I think it is going to expand, and it is expanding,” said Michael Hogue, the chief executive of the American Pharmacists Association, in an interview with The New York Times. The organization isn’t actively participating in the new program.
Almost 40 states now permit pharmacists to prescribe certain medications, which, according to Hogue, makes sense because they have already received the training. He says that his group believes it is completely logical for “someone so accessible in a local community be able to provide safe access to therapies that might sometimes be difficult to get.”
The program is the first of its kind in the nation, and its organizers are optimistic that other states will follow suit. It’s being started just as supporters of abortion rights are preparing for new obstacles to healthcare access under the Trump administration. They say that letting pharmacists prescribe the medication will provide more choices for people to get what they need.
Opponents of abortion have voiced strong objections to pharmacists prescribing abortion pills, labeling the practice as reckless and hazardous.
“Pharmacists, who do not receive clinical training should not be distributing these dangerous drugs,” Dr. Ingrid Skop, vice president and director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, an anti-abortion organization, said in a statement. “By pushing these medically unsupervised abortions, the FDA and abortion advocates continue down the slippery slope of chipping away at medical standards for women seeking abortion.”
Currently, pharmacists are controlled by state laws, so the federal government cannot stop them from prescribing certain medications. Additionally, pills are now used for almost two-thirds of abortions in the United States, many studies have found that taking abortion medications are safe, and serious complications are rare. Plus, pharmacists in Washington have been legally recognized as healthcare providers and are authorized to prescribe FDA-approved medications since 1979.
As part of the program, 10 pharmacists received training to prescribe mifepristone and misoprostol, which are the standard medications used for abortion. 43 individuals were prescribed abortion medication through Honeybee Health, an online pharmacy. It is legal to prescribe mifepristone for someone who is up to 10 weeks pregnant.
????Trump has nominated anti-reproductive rights officials to lead federal agencies that directly impact access to reproductive care—including abortion, birth control, IVF & maternal health care.
— Center for Reproductive Rights (@ReproRights) January 15, 2025
See appointees’ repro records at Repro Red Flags: Agency Watchhttps://t.co/8aVg4LIjPu
Still, this initiative, along with general access to safe reproductive healthcare, could all be at risk.
A recent lawsuit aimed at making the FDA limit the use of mifepristone has resurfaced after the Supreme Court decided the original plaintiffs didn’t have the right to sue. Last month, the Texas attorney general filed a lawsuit against an abortion provider in New York for sending abortion pills to a patient in Texas. What’s more, supporters of abortion rights are worried that a 151-year-old federal law known as the Comstock Act (it bans the interstate mailing and receiving of “any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring an abortion”), might be used by the Trump administration to stop and criminalize the mailing of abortion medication, as part of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.
“Attacks on access to abortion care have created an urgent medical, public health and human rights crisis,” Dr. Beth Rivin, head of Uplift International and managing director of the PAAP), told The Times.
“Even in Washington State, where abortion is legal, people still face barriers to abortion care, especially people who are struggling to make ends meet, live in rural areas and don’t have easy access to reproductive health care.”
Additional Resources:
The Reproductive Health Access Project
