The Food and Drug Administration launched a safety study into mifepristone—one of the primary means of administering abortions in the U.S.—the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, which could allow the Trump administration to restrict distribution of the pill after the Supreme Court last month restored access to the drug by mail.
Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa.
Citing unnamed administration officials, the Wall Street Journal reported the study is likely to take at least six months, which means it will not be completed before the midterm elections.
The inquiry into the safety of the drug, which was approved by the FDA more than two decades ago and deemed safe and effective by experts, was reportedly opened after months of pressure from anti-abortion groups and some GOP lawmakers in Congress who have called for a crackdown.
The report noted the FDA is unlikely to ban the drug outright, but the study may allow the agency to block its distribution by mail or via telehealth without requiring an in-person doctor’s visit.
