HHS Rescinds Biden-Era Pharmacy Abortion Mandate

Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has formally rescinded a Biden-era policy that critics said pressured pharmacies to dispense abortion-inducing drugs as a condition of receiving federal funds. The reversal, announced Tuesday by the HHS Office for Civil Rights, applies nationwide and took effect immediately.

The original guidance, issued in 2022 after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, warned pharmacies participating in Medicare, Medicaid, or other federally funded programs that refusing to provide certain drugs could constitute discrimination under federal civil rights law. A 2023 revision softened the language but continued to raise concerns among religious and pro-life pharmacy owners.

HHS said the guidance was withdrawn because it conflicted with federal law, conscience protections, and recent executive orders limiting taxpayer involvement in elective abortion. The agency also cited objections to the use of the term “pregnant person,” calling it inconsistent with current federal definitions based on biological sex. The move follows ongoing legal battles and renewed scrutiny of abortion drug regulation at the federal level.

Previously, the UOJ reported that the Trump administration moved to ban federally funded transgender procedures for minors. 

Read also