More Restrictions on Seeking Medication Abortions in South Dakota

From CNN:

Seeking a medication abortion becomes harder in South Dakota under the new rule. The new rule requires woman who seeks a medication abortion by taking mifepristone and misoprostol a in-person visit at a licensed abortion facility to obtain those. Under this new rule, South Dakota will be the first state demanding a in-person visit to get the medication abortion drugs.

Typically, women are given both drugs in the same visit to their doctor or a clinic. They take the mifepristone pill at the clinic and are instructed to take the misoprostol pill at home a day or two later. Under the new regulation, women in South Dakota will now effectively be required to make four visits to a licensed abortion facility for a medication abortion. The rule comes after the Biden administration temporarily relaxed federal regulations on medication abortion in April, removing the requirement that mifepristone be dispensed in person during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Proponents of the rule, including several South Dakota physicians, testified that removing in-person visits could lead to life-threatening health complications for pregnant women. Opponents of the rule raised the potential violation of constitutional rights and concerned that new rules would not make the care safer.

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