WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. During the COVID-19 pandemic, patients seeking an abortion pill will not be forced to attend a doctor's office or clinic, according to the latest reversal in an ongoing legal struggle over the medicine.

The FDA revealed the policy change in a letter to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, one of several medical groups that have sued over the Trump administration's limitation.

Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, stated that an agency review of recent studies "does not appear to show increases in serious safety concerns" when patients take the pill without first visiting a health facility and discussing the drug's potential risks, including internal bleeding.

The shift makes it possible for people to obtain a prescription for the drug — mifepristone — via telemedicine and receive it by mail. Abortion opponents, on the other hand, are pressing legislation in some Republican-led states to prevent easier access.

Medication abortion has been legal in the United States since the FDA approved the use of mifepristone in 2000. It forms the so-called abortion pill when combined with a hormone blocker called misoprostol. Approximately 40% of all abortions in the United States are now performed with medication rather than surgery, and this option has grown increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FDA dropped in-person restrictions for practically all pharmaceuticals, including closely restricted substances like methadone, last year. However, the FDA and its parent health agency contended that the regulations were required to guarantee that the medicines were taken safely. Patients must pick up a single pill of mifepristone in a hospital, clinic, or medical office and sign a paper that includes information on the medication's possible hazards, according to the rule.

The obstetricians and gynecologists' association filed a lawsuit to overturn the regulation, resulting in a succession of contradictory court outcomes. Most recently, in January, the Supreme Court agreed with the Trump administration in order to uphold the long-standing restriction prohibiting medicine from being obtained in person.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the obstetricians association stated that the FDA's change of heart on the rule demonstrates that "it is arbitrary and does nothing to reinforce the safety of an already-safe drug."

The FDA policy is only in effect during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Several medical organizations are advocating for the permanent availability of pharmaceutical abortion through internet prescription and mail-order pharmacies.

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