Trigger bans on abortion in 13 states have begun to go into effect following the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday June 24th to overturn Roe v Wade. Hours after the decision was announced, over 100 requests for appointments flooded nonprofit organization Just the Pill as women fearfully began stocking up on emergency contraceptive pills.
Medical abortion, which is defined as an abortion where the patient takes medicine orally or vaginally to stop the growth of a pregnancy, is authorized by the FDA to be used in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. It typically requires two drugs, taken 24 to 48 hours apart, that cause contractions which expels the fetus. This process causes bleeding similar to a heavy period.
Pills are less expensive, less invasive, and more private than surgical abortions. Nonprofits and other pill providers can mail the pills directly to a patient after an initial consultation with a doctor (this can be through a phone call, video call, or in person).
Now, patients must have their consultation in a state that allows abortion, forcing many women to travel across state borders to pick up pills. Abortion providers are expanding to provide clinics along state borders. Just the Pill plans on deploying mobile clinics in a program called “Abortion Delivered” which would also provide surgical abortions and reduce travel burdens. They are planning on reaching patients in states that outlawed abortion after the court decision and adapt to legislature and the markets.
Regulation processes of abortion pills will vary between states. 19 states have barred telemedicine for abortion and overall, medical abortion is harder to police than surgical options. Instead of receiving pills in the mail, patients can still travel to pick up pills in states where abortion is legal. Mobile clinics cannot be targeted in abortion-legal states, however this may lead to states directly targeting and persecuting patients themselves, instead of doctors and abortion providers. Additionally, the postal service seems to lack the capacity to regulate abortion pill distribution, possibly giving women the option of still receiving pills by mail.
The CDC also reports approximately 600,000 women received legal abortions in 2019, and more than half of those abortions are medical abortions. The overturning of Roe v Wade allows many states to tighten their regulations on abortion, forcing more women to seek dangerous and life-threatening options in order to abort while revealing which members of the American public truly care about women’s reproductive rights.
Medical abortion, which is defined as an abortion where the patient takes medicine orally or vaginally to stop the growth of a pregnancy, is authorized by the FDA to be used in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. It typically requires two drugs, taken 24 to 48 hours apart, that cause contractions which expels the fetus. This process causes bleeding similar to a heavy period.
Pills are less expensive, less invasive, and more private than surgical abortions. Nonprofits and other pill providers can mail the pills directly to a patient after an initial consultation with a doctor (this can be through a phone call, video call, or in person).
Now, patients must have their consultation in a state that allows abortion, forcing many women to travel across state borders to pick up pills. Abortion providers are expanding to provide clinics along state borders. Just the Pill plans on deploying mobile clinics in a program called “Abortion Delivered” which would also provide surgical abortions and reduce travel burdens. They are planning on reaching patients in states that outlawed abortion after the court decision and adapt to legislature and the markets.
Regulation processes of abortion pills will vary between states. 19 states have barred telemedicine for abortion and overall, medical abortion is harder to police than surgical options. Instead of receiving pills in the mail, patients can still travel to pick up pills in states where abortion is legal. Mobile clinics cannot be targeted in abortion-legal states, however this may lead to states directly targeting and persecuting patients themselves, instead of doctors and abortion providers. Additionally, the postal service seems to lack the capacity to regulate abortion pill distribution, possibly giving women the option of still receiving pills by mail.
The CDC also reports approximately 600,000 women received legal abortions in 2019, and more than half of those abortions are medical abortions. The overturning of Roe v Wade allows many states to tighten their regulations on abortion, forcing more women to seek dangerous and life-threatening options in order to abort while revealing which members of the American public truly care about women’s reproductive rights.
