Tens of thousands of women in the United States are ordering abortion drugs in case they need them one day, as more states impose restrictions on reproductive rights.
An article published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that the telemedicine provider Aid Access received about 6,000 requests for the medication from non-pregnant women, an average of 25 per day before the Dobbs v. Jackson case that struck down abortion protections.
After the decision, she received more than 42,000 inquiries, an average of 118 per day. The article’s authors found that sales increased more rapidly in states where access to abortion is at risk.
Aid Access is a telehealth service that provides abortion pills to women in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. In September 2021, the organization began offering the pills mifepristone and misoprostol to women who were not pregnant.
The pills cost about $150 and are prescribed online by US healthcare providers. After ordering, women will receive the medicine within one to five days.
The practice of ordering abortion pills before you are actually pregnant and want to have an abortion is called prenatal care. This is a relatively new practice that has increased significantly since the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down national protections for the right to abortion.
The abortion pill mifepristone is one of two drugs used in medication abortions, which account for more than half of all abortions in the United States.
While previous studies on abortion access used only estimated distances to clinics, a 2023 study used isochrones, lines on maps that represent an area accessible from a point within a given time, and data from various governments -, state and local authorities to determine travel. times. This means that this research has identified the true drivers of women
The study, conducted by researchers from Texas, Massachusetts and the Netherlands, examined data from September 2021 to April 2023. It found that the average number of daily requests for the pills before the Dobbs decision was 25. After the Dobbs decision was announced, that number increased to 247 per day. After the Dobbs ruling was officially announced, there were an average of 90 inquiries per day.
The number of daily inquiries rose again to an average of 172 after conflicting statements were made about the pills’ legality.
The Supreme Court will decide on the availability of commonly used abortion pills
The Supreme Court has announced that it will rule on a case involving the use of a pill that is the most common abortion method in the United States. This is the first abortion case since Roe vs. Wade last year.
After the Dobbs decision was leaked, the average weekly number of claims rose from 0.4 to 3.5 per 100,000 women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years old) in states that were expected to soon introduce abortion bans, and reaching even 3.5 higher levels than in states where abortion bans were in force. Already exists.
The states are divided into four classifications: 13 that banned abortions after Dobbs; two that imposed a six-week ban; 13 states and Washington, DC, which have indicated that bans or restrictions are likely in the near future; and 22 states with no current or planned law changes.
Among states with total or near-total abortion bans, prepayments rose the most in Tennessee after the Dobbs decision was announced but before the official announcement was made.
In states with six-week shutdowns, post-leak inquiries rose the most in Georgia.
Washington, DC saw the biggest increase among states with likely bans, following the Dobbs leak. After the conflicting verdicts on the legality of abortion pills, there was another increase.
Among the states least likely to ban abortions, applications rose the most after Vermont faced conflicting drug regulations.
Overall, researchers found that most requests were made by women over 30 who identified as white and did not have children.
According to the study, non-pregnant women who sought the drug were “motivated by a desire to preserve their reproductive autonomy” and said they did so to “ensure personal health and choice” and “to prepare for possible abortion restrictions.”
Dr. Abigail Aiken, an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin and co-author of the study, told the New York Times: “People were clearly paying attention and seeing the danger that access to abortion would disappear or be limited where it was still available.” ” . and thought, “I have to prepare for this.”
After the first study, Dr. Aiken said 930 women answered follow-up questions.
Most still had the pills, but 58 took them and 55 gave them to someone else. All 58 women said the pills worked successfully and they had no serious side effects.
In June 2022, 49 years after Roe vs. Wade guaranteed the right to abortion, the decision in Dobbs vs. Jackson, who questioned the constitutionality of a 2018 Mississippi state law that banned most abortions after the first 15 weeks of abortion. Pregnancy.
In the ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that the US Constitution does not guarantee the right to abortion.
After the ruling, 14 states made abortion illegal, meaning they outlawed the procedure altogether and enforced prohibitions through civil and criminal penalties, including fines and prison terms for women who undergo the procedure and health care providers who perform it.
Mifepristone is manufactured by Danco Laboratories in New York and has a shelf life of three to five years.
It is one of two drugs used in medication abortions, which account for more than half of all abortions in the United States. Since 2000, more than 5 million people have used it.
Medical abortions consist of taking mifepristone, followed one to two days later by misoprostol, which has a shelf life of 18 to 24 months.
Women who want to end their pregnancy in the first ten weeks without another invasive surgical abortion can use mifepristone with misoprostol.
The Food and Drug Administration has relaxed the conditions for using mifepristone over the years, including allowing it by mail to states that allow access.
However, abortion opponents filed a lawsuit against mifepristone in November after the Dobbs decision and initially won a ruling six months later that completely revoked the drug’s approval.
In December 2023, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear a case challenging the use of the pill, the first abortion case since Roe vs. Wade.
The justices will hear appeals from the Biden administration and the drug maker, asking the court to overturn an appeals decision that would have blocked access to the drug by mail and imposed other restrictions, even in states where abortion remains legal.
The case will be heard in the spring and the decision is expected to come in late June, in the middle of the 2024 election season.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
