<span style="color: #222222;">Retail pharmacies in the United States will be permitted to sell abortion pills, said health officials on Tuesday, a move that could significantly expand access to the procedure after last year's landmark Supreme Court ruling that overturned federal abortion rights.<br />''<br />''Regulatory changes announced by the Food and Drug Administration mean that mifepristone, which is the first of two drugs used to terminate a pregnancy, will be available in local drug stores in states where abortion is permitted.<br />''<br />''A doctor's prescription will be needed to obtain the pills, which were previously only available from a few mail-order pharmacies or certified doctors and clinics.<br />''<br />''Demand for abortion pills has risen since the conservative-dominated Supreme Court made a landmark ruling last June that overturned Roe v. Wade, a 1973 case that had guaranteed women's right to an abortion for half a century. Pharmacies will need to receive certification to dispense the drug, while patients will need to complete a consent form.<br />''<br />''The FDA's decision was welcomed by the American Civil Liberties Union.</span><br />