and it's time now for today, explain where we
break down some of the biggest stories in the news
, how we got here and where we go next
. And we told you yesterday how after a ruling
by the Food and Drug Administration, retail pharmacies are
now allowed to offer abortion pills. But there's much
more of a consequential issue here. Will this ruling
really expand access to abortion pills across the country?
So we dug in a little deeper and here's what
we found out. Nothing is expected to change in
states that already limit or ban access to abortion pills
. And according to the Guttmacher Institute, that's more
than half of us states, 29 states specifically require
physicians, not physician's assistants or nurses to be the
one To administer medication abortions. 18 of those states
also require a physician to be physically present when the
patient takes the pill. That requirement effectively bans the
use of telehealth for medication abortions, even though clinical
evidence has shown that the practice is appropriate and safe
. So let's take this a step further though,
pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens plan to start offering these
prescription pills where abortion is legal. None of this
is going to impact people seeking abortions in states with
existing bands. And that's important because medication abortion now
accounts for about half of all U. S. 00:01:21.140 --> Abortions