Thane: FDA lodges complaint against e-commerce portal for selling abortion pill without prescription

The Thane Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lodged a police complaint against an e-commerce portal for selling abortion pills online without prescriptions. A senior FDA official himself ordered the abortion pill without any prescriptions and the e-commerce website delivered the medicine to his home.

Despite there being a warning written over that the pill is to be sold only with prescriptions, the e-commerce website sold as over to counter medicine.

As per the FIR, the e-commerce portal, Meesho, is reportedly selling “Mankind Unwanted Kit” online without prescription.

The complainant, Sunil Harishchandra Gawali (43), additional commissioner of FDA Zone 7, deputed at Thane came to know about the practice that the e-commerce website was selling abortion pills and accordingly sent a notice on March 30, 2022, to the e-commerce website to stop selling the kit. As per the complainant, selling the kit online can be a serious health threat to women.

However, on April 1, the complainant, additional commissioner of FDA Gawali himself made an order and the kit was delivered to his home address on April 6 by a courier company.

On the medicine packet it clearly mentioned that it should be used as directed by the physician. Similarly, the kit falls in the 'Schedule H' category under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 and its sale should not be sold without a doctor's prescription.

The drug label also states that the drug should be used under the supervision of a 'Service Provider and in a Medical Facility' as specified under MTP Act 2002 MTP Rules 2003. However, the seller has violated all these guidelines while selling the product.

A case has been registered under sections 18 (A) (6), 18 (c), 27 (B) (2) and 65 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 against the e-commerce website.