The FDA Just Made It a Lot Easier to Get an Abortion

Read: The President of Planned Parenthood Opens Up About Fighting for Reproductive Rights

At a time when America has seen a steady and unprecedented rise in government restrictions on abortion, the FDA may have just made it a little bit easier for women to access the safe and legal medical procedure.

The administration updated label for Mifeprex—the abortion-inducing drug—on Wednesday, effectively relaxing the provisions for the medication, the New York Times reports.

The new label, which previously contained outdated information from scientific trials in the 1990s, now properly reflects the amount of time a woman has to use the pill—extending it from 49 to 70 days. It also reflects the appropriate minimum dosage necessary to use the pill successfully, decreasing it from 600 mg to a safer and more affordable 200 mg. The number of doctor visits women need to get the pill also decreased from three to two in some states.

While many providers across the country have already been practicing these medically accepted provisions, certain states were sticklers for following the guidelines on the outdated label, making it harder for women to get abortions, according to some providers. Now, with fewer required doctor visits and more time to use the pill, women across the country will have easier access to safe and legal abortions at a reduced cost.

Women's reproductive health researchers and activists have praised the decision as a victory. Elizabeth Nash, associate at the Guttmacher Institute, called it a "huge step" for abortion access, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists released a statement praising the FDA's action as reflecting "the current available scientific evidence and best practices."