A major rule change from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to make abortion induced by medicine, rather than surgery, more common and easier to obtain for women in areas of the country without nearby clinics.

Under the new rule, women who are prescribed abortion medication will only have to visit the doctor twice, instead of three times. The agency also lowered the required dosage of mifepristone from 600 mg to 200 mg, a change that some say will make medical abortions more attractive because the smaller dosage will mean fewer painful side effects.

Even before the FDA announcement, abortion rights advocates were hoping that technological innovation could reduce the impact of the recent wave of state laws that have sought — and in many cases succeeded — to shut down abortion practices.