A pill used to terminate early pregnancies is unlikely to become available without a prescription for years, if ever, experts said, as the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court dramatically curbed abortion rights this week.
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that recognized the constitutional right to an abortion and legalized it nationwide. The new ruling stung abortion rights advocates and was a momentous victory to Republicans and religious conservatives.
The pill, mifepristone, in combination with a second drug called misoprostol, induces an abortion up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy and is only available through a certified doctor's prescription. Abortion rights activists have stepped up calls to make it available at pharmacies without a prescription.