Med Mal News

AZ Law Restricts Doctors' Use of Professional Judgment When Prescribing Abortion Pill

In March, Arizona became the first state to undercut the FDA's new guidelines on use of the abortion-inducing drug Mifepristone when, one day after the guidelines were issued, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed into law a state measure requiring that the FDA's former, more restrictive, protocols be followed by clinics in that state. An earlier, similar, Arizona law had been struck down as an unconstitutional restriction on abortion rights.

Arizona's legislature passed the bill that became the new law prior to the FDA's new-guidelines announcement. It requires in-state abortion clinics to comply with the FDA guidelines on the administration of Mifepristone that were in place as of Dec. 31, 2015 ' these earlier guidelines suggested women should only be given the drug within the first seven weeks of pregnancy, and in higher strengths than the newer guidelines suggest. Most importantly, both iterations of FDA guidelines for the administration of Mifepristone were just that ' guidelines ' and a doctor was free to prescribe them in a different manner if it was advisable for the patient. This is what health care providers had been doing, sometimes prescribing the drugs more than seven weeks into a pregnancy, and ordering lower dosages. Arizona's new law, however, will make it impossible for doctors to follow the law and also use their professional judgment to change the manner of administration where necessary for a patient's health and well-being.

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