Abortion medication by mail confirmed

[Pommer]

Even if you don't believe in hell, it is very easy to understand 8 billion is already too many people on the planet and we need the birth rate to drop.

I am confident that in about 200 years we will be heading back to the caves, not knowing what happens to the sun at night.

 

[Desk trauma]

I am confident that in about 200 years we will be heading back to the caves, not knowing what happens to the sun at night.

That long?

 

[jayem]

A strict reading of the 10th amendment would suggest that any power not explicitly granted to the federal government should be left to the states.

Powers is one thing. But rights are another. And as per the 9th amendment, rights are reserved to the people. Not the states:

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

To me, it should be a no-brainer that the ability to make a private medical decision, with informed consent between doctor and patient, would be considered a right.

 

[Pommer]

That long?

Me, if I have 10 years left, I’d be happy with that.
Tomorrow’s not “too soon”, but I’m not taking up skydiving or anything either.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Powers is one thing. But rights are another. And as per the 9th amendment, rights are reserved to the people. Not the states:

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

To me, it should be a no-brainer that the ability to make a private medical decision, with informed consent between doctor and patient, would be considered a right.

Correct, however, does medical privacy circumnavigate public policies and laws?

(I've enumerated the reasons why these laws aimed at prohibiting abortion medication by mail are poorly construstucted and likely to be ineffective. as well as the fact that the medications in questions have other uses)

For instance, when some rogue doctors were prescribing ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine to patients during covid instead of encouraging vaccination, a few of them lost their license, and in certain localities, pharmacists were told not to fill those prescriptions for people...would the medical privacy angle play for that?

The way I see it there are a few paths
1) Medical privacy trumps all (meaning doctors -including those acting as "pill mills" and ones dispensing unapproved drugs- would be covered by this)

2) State laws with regards to conduct trump medical privacy in all cases

3) Better efforts are made to solidify the right in question instead of trying to piggy back off of the more generalized "right to privacy", and aiming for a more nuanced approach between government and medicine.

 

[Whyayeman]

Whatever your laws demand, however your constitution is parsed, there will always be abortions. There always have been.

The difference would be that the abortions would be illegal and less safe - except for those women who could afford to travel to a place where abortion is legal. Any laws intended to prevent abortion would only apply to the poor.

 

[essentialsaltes]

USPS said the Justice Department concurred with its "determination that under the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity, any state laws that may apply to the shipment of those prescription drugs cannot be applied to Postal Service employees who are complying with their duties under federal law."

... I'm sure some anti-abortion states will challenge this in federal court. We'll see how it plays out.

U.S. Postal Service can continue to deliver prescription abortion medication, DOJ says

Republican AGs warn pharmacies against mailing abortion pills within their states​

Republican attorneys general from 20 states wrote letters to executives at CVS and Walgreens warning the pharmacy chains against using the mail to dispense abortion pills in their states, in a shot against a new Biden administration policy.

The letters rebuke recent guidance from the Justice Department – issued in an opinion from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel – that concluded the federal law did not prohibit the mailing of abortion pills. The release of the Justice Department opinion came ahead of the rollout of new rules from the Food and Drug Administration allowingcertified pharmacies to dispense medication abortion with a prescription, including by mail order.

“We intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program, however we fully understand that we may not be able to dispense Mifepristone in all locations if we are certified under the program,” the [Walgreens] spokesperson Fraser Engerman said in an email.

 

[Desk trauma]

Trial balloon floated on the inter-state travel restrictions. Walked back after its reception but it's being kicked around.

 

[jayem]

Republican AGs warn pharmacies against mailing abortion pills within their states​

Republican attorneys general from 20 states wrote letters to executives at CVS and Walgreens warning the pharmacy chains against using the mail to dispense abortion pills in their states, in a shot against a new Biden administration policy.

The letters rebuke recent guidance from the Justice Department – issued in an opinion from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel – that concluded the federal law did not prohibit the mailing of abortion pills. The release of the Justice Department opinion came ahead of the rollout of new rules from the Food and Drug Administration allowingcertified pharmacies to dispense medication abortion with a prescription, including by mail order.

“We intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program, however we fully understand that we may not be able to dispense Mifepristone in all locations if we are certified under the program,” the [Walgreens] spokesperson Fraser Engerman said in an email.

As per the Constitution, only Congress has the power to regulate interstate commerce. A federal law to legalize mail-order abortion medication would override any state ban. But--as of now--passing such a law will require 5 Republican votes in addition to all 213 Democratic votes in the House. And a likely Senate filibuster would have to be overcome.

I'm sure the federal courts will have first dibs on this.

 

[Say it aint so]

Republican AGs warn pharmacies against mailing abortion pills within their states​

Republican attorneys general from 20 states wrote letters to executives at CVS and Walgreens warning the pharmacy chains against using the mail to dispense abortion pills in their states, in a shot against a new Biden administration policy.

The letters rebuke recent guidance from the Justice Department – issued in an opinion from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel – that concluded the federal law did not prohibit the mailing of abortion pills. The release of the Justice Department opinion came ahead of the rollout of new rules from the Food and Drug Administration allowingcertified pharmacies to dispense medication abortion with a prescription, including by mail order.

“We intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program, however we fully understand that we may not be able to dispense Mifepristone in all locations if we are certified under the program,” the [Walgreens] spokesperson Fraser Engerman said in an email.

Those Republican attorneys are relying on the Comstock Act of 1873 which ruled doctors "supplying written materials explaining pregnancy and how to prevent it" was immoral, illegal and subject to arrest. In other words, contraception and not abortion. In subsequent cases the provisions of the Comstock Act have constantly been overturned. Not sure why these AGs are wasting their time, but hey, it's red meat.

 

[Desk trauma]

Not sure why these AGs are wasting their time

Because they were listening when Clarence told them what was on the hit list.

 

[Say it aint so]

Because they were listening when Clarence told them what was on the hit list.

You got a point there.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Those Republican attorneys are relying on the Comstock Act of 1873

Wow, that is a blast from the (multiply-struck-down) past.

 

[Desk trauma]

You got a point there.

I'm waiting for the test cases against Lawrence and Obergefell. The rumblings from Texas makes me think they want a rematch on Lawrence.

 

[Fantine]

I understand the courts might stop the FDA from implementing these rules.

I hope it comes to a head around the 2024 election.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Republican AGs warn pharmacies against mailing abortion pills within their states​

Republican attorneys general from 20 states wrote letters to executives at CVS and Walgreens warning the pharmacy chains against using the mail to dispense abortion pills in their states, in a shot against a new Biden administration policy.

Walgreens won’t distribute abortion pills in states where GOP AGs object​

The nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain confirmed Thursday that it will not dispense abortion pills in several states where they remain legal — acting out of an abundance of caution amid a shifting policy landscape, threats from state officials and pressure from anti-abortion activists.

 

[ThatRobGuy]

WASHINGTON, Jan 3 (Reuters) - The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) can continue to deliver prescription abortion medication despite a June 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned a landmark abortion rights decision, the Justice Department said on Tuesday....

USPS said the Justice Department concurred with its "determination that under the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity, any state laws that may apply to the shipment of those prescription drugs cannot be applied to Postal Service employees who are complying with their duties under federal law."

Non-surgical abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol is now the most common early term abortion technique. The DoJ opinion holds that states which prohibit early, 1st trimester abortion can't interfere with mail delivery of these drugs directly to patients. Physician advice and monitoring will still be necessary, but can be done through telemedicine. I'm sure some anti-abortion states will challenge this in federal court. We'll see how it plays out.

U.S. Postal Service can continue to deliver prescription abortion medication, DOJ says

I mentioned a few months back that they would have a very tough time trying to ban delivery of mifepristone due to the fact that early term abortion isn't the only use for the drug...one of the other most popular uses is for Diabetics (one of the most common ailments in the US)

This is what I posted back on Jan 5th:
*************************************************************
Not to mention, even if they had the time and resources to try to enforce this, enforcement would be an absolute nightmare with regards to the logistics.

mifepristone, for example, can be used up until 11 weeks. So if a woman orders some (in a state with a ban after 6 weeks), how would a postal employee (or an agent screening the mail) know how far along in a pregnancy a random woman is? Technically speaking, she's legal if she does it at 5 weeks, but a "criminal" if she uses it at 7 weeks, but how is anyone who's in charge of mail handling or screening to know that? Apart from exposing HIPAA data to mail screeners (which is a big no-no), not much they could do there.


It also fails to acknowledge that (with regards to mifepristone), the drug can be (and is) used for other things.

Cushing Syndrome & Korlym® (mifepristone)​

Have you been diagnosed with Cushing syndrome? Learn about Korlym, an approved medication for treating its symptoms.

www.korlym.com

So if a woman is getting this medication via mail in the generic form...how would they know if it's a woman looking to end an early pregnancy? Or one of the 3 million diabetics taking it?

 

[RileyG]

This is heartbreaking. Lord, have mercy

 

[essentialsaltes]

Walgreens won’t distribute abortion pills in states where GOP AGs object​

The nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain confirmed Thursday that it will not dispense abortion pills in several states where they remain legal — acting out of an abundance of caution amid a shifting policy landscape, threats from state officials and pressure from anti-abortion activists.

Governor Newsom says California will cut ties with Walgreens over abortion pill access​

In an attempt to counter GOP efforts to limit reproductive rights, Gov. Gavin Newsom said California will cut ties with Walgreens over the company’s decision to stop selling abortion medication in 20 Republican states.

“California won’t be doing business with Walgreens — or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk,” Newsom tweeted Monday. “We’re done.”

How California might stop doing business with Walgreens and what impact such a move could have on Californians was not immediately clear. Newsom’s aides said his administration did not have any details on what cutting ties would entail and is only now reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state, including Medi-Cal and Covered California contracts.

[This may be a bit premature, since IIRC, none of these major pharmacies have actually applied to start selling the pills anywhere.]

 

[essentialsaltes]

How California might stop doing business with Walgreens and what impact such a move could have on Californians was not immediately clear. Newsom’s aides said his administration did not have any details on what cutting ties would entail and is only now reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state, including Medi-Cal and Covered California contracts.

[This may be a bit premature, since IIRC, none of these major pharmacies have actually applied to start selling the pills anywhere.]

California suspends $54M Walgreens contract over abortion pills policy​

The contract being halted allows California state agencies — primarily the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation — to procure specialty prescription drugs from Walgreens and was due for renewal May 1, the governor’s office said in the statement.

Walgreens has been caught in a bind post-Roe v. Wade as antiabortion groups and conservative leaders intensify efforts to restrict abortion access.

Twenty Republican state leaders last month sent a letter to the chain that threatened legal action if it were to mail abortion pills in their states, citing a federal law that prohibits mailing anything that could induce an abortion. The Justice Department, in an opinion published in December, said the law does not prohibit mailing abortion pills if they are not used unlawfully.

As of now, Walgreens does not sell the pill in any state as it is awaiting certification to do so from the FDA.