Retail pharmacies will be allowed to provide an abortion drug directly to patients under a regulatory update to the Food and Drug Administration’s rules, two of the drug’s manufacturers said Tuesday. The regulatory change, first reported by The New York Times, permanently abolishes an in-person dispensing requirement that was temporarily suspended last year. Should pharmacies choose to stock the drug, the change will allow patients wider access to mifepristone, the first pill in the two-step medication abortion procedure, in states where it is legal. In a statement, the chief executive of GenBioPro, which manufactures the generic version of mifepristone, noted that this caveat meant that “today’s announcement will not provide equal access to all people,” though he called it a “step in the right direction.” Mifepristone’s other maker, Danco Laboratories, said in its own statement that the modification was “critically important” at a time “when people across the country are struggling to obtain abortion care services.”