A new policy enacted in Washington State now allows pharmacists to prescribe mifepristone and misoprostol, most commonly used as abortion pills. The Food and Drug Administration passed a rule in 2023 that expanded the abortion pill availability to include large chains like Walgreens and CVS and online pharmacies.
Now, in an attempt to spearhead abortion access, Washington State is training pharmacists to prescribe abortion pills.
The Pharmacy Abortion Access Project
Don Downing, a professor at the University of Washington, along with a group of doctors and pharmacists, launched the Pharmacy Abortion Access Project (PAAP) to expand abortion access through local pharmacies.
This program trains pharmacists to screen patients for abortion pills, prescribe the drug, and dispense the medication, all from their brick-and-mortar pharmacies. The pilot program for this project wrapped up in November 2024, with its first pharmacists successfully prescribing abortion pills to 43 women with the assistance of the online pharmacy Honeybee Health. Downing hopes this is the beginning of a new method of providing abortion in the United States. “We do believe this can serve as a model for other states,” says Downing.
Expanding Abortion Access
California has already expressed growing enthusiasm to make abortion pills as common as cold medicine. In May 2023, Sally Rafie and colleagues published the results of a survey study of more than 900 pharmacists and pharmacy students in California that found that 75% “would be willing to prescribe abortion medications to their pharmacy clients if allowed by law.”
Across the country, in New York, a bill is pending that would allow pharmacists to provide a non-patient-specific prescription. This gives nurses and pharmacists the authority to assess a patient’s need and administer vaccines (or, in this case, abortion medication) without the direct involvement of physicians at the time of the interaction. The push to make abortion ‘easier’ is stripping away the safeguards that protect women’s health and well-being.
The Risks of Abortion Pills
Pharmacists prescribing abortion pills without proper medical oversight creates serious risks to women’s health. Even proponents of this policy acknowledge that pharmacists are not trained in abortion care, as medication abortion is not covered in standard pharmacy school curricula. Yet, they are now being tasked with screening, prescribing, and dispensing these harmful drugs—all without the critical safeguards of an ultrasound or in-person consultation.
Secondly, without proper consultation and ultrasound, it may be unethical to prescribe a pill that may be unnecessary. Dr. Karysse Hutson, National Medical Director for Save the Storks, explains how there are many reasons that a woman needs an ultrasound before deciding to take the pill.
“Many times, abortion providers will not perform an ultrasound. They may take the woman at her word based on her last period and charge her hundreds of dollars for the abortion pill,” Hutson says. “So, women need to know first of all and see with her own eyes that her baby is either living or she has miscarried.”
The Dangers of a No-Test Policy
Beyond financial exploitation, without an ultrasound or proper consultation in the doctor’s office, there’s a higher risk of endangering women.
If the pregnancy is ectopic, outside of the uterus, and a woman takes the abortion pill, there could be severe internal bleeding and hemorrhaging that could lead to the need for surgery or even maternal death. The abortion pill is only FDA-approved for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. Without an ultrasound, pharmacists only have the patients recount their last period to age the gestational period of the baby. Without an accurate dating of the pregnancy, a woman could take the pill too late, increasing the likelihood of incomplete abortion, severe complications, or even delivering a premature baby in the second trimester.
This reckless push for abortion access, all in the name of convenience, is putting women’s health at serious risk.
Making Life More Accessible
Pharmacists prescribing abortion pills brings our country one step closer to providing fully over-the-counter abortions, eliminating the need for a doctor or telehealth consult. When abortion is available on demand at the corner drugstore, women will lose the time, information, and support they need to make an informed decision.
Our Save the Storks mobile medical clinics provide real care—offering ultrasounds, medical support, and compassionate guidance—so women have all the facts before making a life-altering choice.
Save the Storks is fighting to make life accessible. Stand with us. Please help us bring compassionate care to more women.
