Health Care — Pharmacists are new front in abortion pill prescribing

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View Online Health Care Health Care The Big Story  Washington state tries new way to prescribe abortion pills A pilot program in Washington state aims to expand access to abortion by allowing pharmacists to directly prescribe abortion medication to patients via telehealth.    © AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall The Pharmacist Abortion Access Project (PAAP) was launched by Uplift International, a leading advocate for global health and human rights, in collaboration with Honeybee Health, an online pharmacy.    The program is the first of its kind in the country, but organizers are hopeful that other states will follow. It is launching as abortion rights advocates brace for new attacks on abortion access under the Trump administration.    Anti-abortion lawmakers and activists have increasingly targeted abortion medication and the ability for providers to prescribe the pills online. They say medication abortion is dangerous to a pregnant person's health; the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for the incoming administration, calls for the enforcement of the Comstock Act in order to criminalize the mailing of abortion pills.    Abortion is legal in Washington state up to the point of fetal viability, but people still face barriers to abortion care, especially if they live in rural areas, are struggling financially or don't have easy access to reproductive health care, Beth Rivin, president and CEO of Uplift International, said in a statement.    Pharmacists in Washington have been legally recognized as health care providers and authorized to prescribe FDA-approved medications since 1979. Under the pilot, 10 pharmacists were trained to prescribe mifepristone and misoprostol, the standard medication abortion regimen.    Throughout the course of the program, 43 people were prescribed abortion medication through Honeybee Health. Mifepristone is legal to prescribe for someone up to 10 weeks gestation.   Uplift International said it plans to scale up the PAAP across Washington and to explore pharmacists prescribing medication abortion in person from brick-and-mortar pharmacies.   Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: US warns of risk from most of world's online pharmacies The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative warned there's a risk of ineffective or dangerous drugs from online pharmacies that are being illegally run.  Full Story Kroger agrees to pay $110M to Kentucky in opioid settlement The Kroger Co. has agreed to pay Kentucky $110 million to settle a lawsuit filed last year alleging it pumped millions of doses of opioids into the state over the course of more than a decade.  Full Story More than 15,000 doctors urge Senate to reject RFK Jr. as Health secretary More than 15,000 doctors across the country signed an open letter urging senators to vote against President-elect Trump's nominee for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): Robert F. Kennedy Jr.   In the letter, physicians say they are "appalled" by Trump's "reckless" appointment of Kennedy, arguing he would be "dangerous" if confirmed to the top public health post.  "This appointment is an affront …  Full Story In Other News  Branch out with a different read: EMILY's List makes endorsement in Wisconsin Supreme Court race EMILY's List, a major political group that looks to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights, announced Thursday that it's endorsing Dane County Judge Susan Crawford in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. "EMILYs List is proud to endorse Judge Susan Crawford for the Wisconsin state Supreme Court," EMILY's List President Jessica Mackler said in a statement that was first shared with The Hill. "Judge Crawford has … Full Story Around the Nation  Local and state headlines on health care: Florida state healthcare system wants $6.7 million to hike staff pay, improve services (Orlando Sentinel)  Indiana state senator moves to scrap hospital monopoly law he helped create (KFF Health News)  A Medi-Cal 'gap' hurts tens of thousands of low-income seniors. Will California finally fix it? (Cal Matters)  What We're Reading  Health news we've flagged from other outlets: Biden administration allows larger incentives for people who reduce meth use (Stat)  Fluoride analysis triggers new debate over what levels are safe for kids (NPR)  RFK Jr is seeing how far the Kennedy name will take him (Politico)  What Others are Reading  Most read stories on The Hill right now: Bush gives Obama a belly tap at Carter funeral Former President Bush gave former President Obama a belly tap at the funeral on Thursday for the late President Carter, a moment caught on camera and … Read more Greenland lawmaker says Trump Jr. visit 'was all staged' A member of Greenland’s Parliament said Donald Trump Jr.’s visit to the island this week was “all staged” to make it look like … Read more   You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Check out The Hill's Health Care page for the latest coverage. Like this newsletter? 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