The Department of Health and Human Services under President Donald Trump has officially scrapped a controversial Biden administration policy that pushed pharmacists to provide abortion-inducing medications.
The move, announced on January 27, reverses guidance from 2022 that required federally funded pharmacies to fill prescriptions for drugs like mifepristone, even if they could lead to abortions. The Biden rule framed refusals as potential discrimination under civil rights laws, putting pressure on pharmacists who objected on moral or religious grounds. A 2023 revision dropped direct references to mifepristone and stated that scripts didn’t need to be filled specifically for abortions, but it left room for issues with multi-use drugs such as methotrexate or misoprostol.
HHS’s new notice states the old policy wasn’t grounded in solid legal authority and clashed with efforts to stop taxpayer money from supporting elective abortions. It also takes aim at the term “pregnant person” used in the Biden guidance, calling it overly broad. Citing a recent executive order, the department emphasizes that only women and girls can become pregnant, based on biological definitions.
This reversal fits into Trump’s broader push to protect conscience rights, including probes into hospitals accused of compelling staff to assist in abortions and cutting public funding for the procedure. It comes amid ongoing debates over abortion access following the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to enact bans.
Despite these steps, abortion remains widespread. Planned Parenthood’s latest report shows the group performed nearly 393,000 abortions in the year ending April 2024, a record high representing about 40 percent of all U.S. procedures, through almost 600 clinics nationwide.
Pro-life advocates have welcomed the pharmacist change but express worries about other areas. As the administration settles in, these actions signal a shift toward limiting federal involvement in abortion, as President Trump continues to live up to the promises he gave to the pro-life movement on the campaign trail.
