Abortion pills can be sold at US pharmacies, the Food and Drug Administration rules

Activists hail the move as ‘a step in the right direction’

Retail stores will now be able to sell abortion pills in the US for the first time, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) having made a regulatory change in a major move towards expanding access to abortion for more women.

Mifepristone, the first pill used in a two-drug regimen, will be available in retail shops and pharmacies that apply for certification to distribute the pill – and then and can be bought with a doctor’s prescription.

The FDA had first said it would be making those changes in December 2021 when it announced that it would relax some risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) on the pill, that had been in place since the agency approved it in 2000 and were lifted temporarily in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.