A new report issued by the Guttmacher Institute found more than half of all abortions in the United States are done with pills instead of surgery.

Guttmacher, a research group that supports abortion rights, reported that medication abortions accounted for 54% of abortions conducted in 2020. Up from 39% in 2017, 2020 marked the first year that medication abortion became the most common method.

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed a restriction from the distribution of the abortion pill, allowing it to be given out in different settings rather than the method by which it has been issued in the past. The new development will allow the medication abortion to be sent through the mail and even potentially purchased or acquired online.

The so-called abortion pill, Mifeprex (mifepristone), was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2000. The agency approved the first generic form in April 2019.

In what is called a “medication abortion,” a combination of two different drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol are used, typically up to 70 days or 10 weeks after the first day of the woman’s last menstrual period. Mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone; misoprostol causes the uterus to empty.

The drugs are sold under several trade names, including Danco Laboratories’ Mifeprex (mifepristone), Corcept Therapeutics’ Korlym (mifepristone), and Pfizer’s Cytotec (misoprostol).

Pro-life advocates have pointed out the dangers of medication abortion and have spoken out against the decision and pointed to the fact that the FDA didn’t pay attention to information that shows mifepristone results in more women ending up in the emergency room.

Abortion pills have various restrictions in states across the country as legislatures push back against the use of such procedures. 

“In 32 states, clinicians who administer medication abortion are required to be physicians, even though medical professionals with different titles and specialties are otherwise allowed to prescribe medications, oversee treatments and manage patients’ health.” 

The DailyWire reported:

Texas does not allow the use of medication abortion beginning at seven weeks of pregnancy, and Indiana prohibits it at ten weeks. Nineteen states require the clinician giving the abortion pills to be physically present when the pills are administered. Three states reportedly ban sending the pills through the mail to patients and three additional states have had their bans stopped by courts. 

As of February 22, Guttmacher reported that “16 state legislatures have introduced bans or restrictions on medication abortion, including legislation that would ban the use of medication abortion in seven states (Alabama, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming), specifically prohibit the mailing of abortion pills in five states (Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts and Nebraska) and bar the use of telehealth to provide medication abortion in eight states (Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Tennessee).”

The report also pointed out how the use of abortion pills will likely be even a larger factor in the future due to the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling which could severely undercut the precedent established by Roe v. Wade and other decisions.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case out of Mississippi over a law that doesn’t allow abortions after fifteen weeks of pregnancy. The high court could choose to uphold the Mississippi law, cutting away at the precedent established by Planned Parenthood v. Casey and Roe v. Wade. The Justices could also decide to overturn Roe entirely or to strike down the law. If Roe v. Wade is overturned, the decisions regarding abortion would be returned to the states rather than made legal on a broad scale across the country. 

The guidance on the availability of the pills through pharmacies hasn’t yet been created, Guttmacher Institute confirmed in their report.

The Daily Wire previously reported:

“The Supreme Court ruled in January of 2021 that abortion pills were no longer allowed to be sent through the mail after such restrictions had been lifted during the pandemic, siding with an appeal by the Trump administration.”

However, in April, the FDA sent a letter to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) announcing its decision to allow abortion pills to be sent through the mail and prescribed via telemedicine during the COVID-19 health emergency. 

BREAKING: ACOG win! The @US_FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock has notified @ACOG and @MySMFM that the agency will “exercise enforcement discretion” regarding #mifepristone through the duration of the #COVID19 public health emergency. 1/ pic.twitter.com/PDpJ7000bc

— ACOG Action (@ACOGAction) April 13, 2021

Sources: DailyWire, Guttmacher,