USA – Almost 2 Million Women Now Live in ‘Double Deserts’ Without Abortion or Maternity Care

The people trapped in these areas may have no choice but to continue their pregnancies without adequate prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care.

By Susan Rinkunas
Aug 3, 2023

An estimated 1.78 million women of reproductive age live in a U.S. county with no access to abortion or maternity care, according to a chilling analysis from ABC News and Boston Children’s Hospital. If the criteria are broadened to include counties with “low access” to maternity care, the number shoots up to 3.7 million women.

The women and pregnant people trapped in these areas may have no choice but to continue a pregnancy they didn’t want, or one that threatens their health, while being unable to get adequate prenatal, delivery, and postpartum care. It’s the horrifying collision of the twin crises of state abortion bans and women dying from pregnancy, and experts worry that the U.S. maternal mortality will continue to rise. Black women in the U.S. are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes.

Continued: https://jezebel.com/almost-2-million-women-now-live-in-double-deserts-witho-1850703945

03.08.2023

maternal mortality review committee

maternity care deserts

United States

Human Rights

Law

Abortion access could continue to change in year 2 after the overturn of Roe v. Wade

July 3, 2023
Selena Simmons-Duffin

From the moment the Supreme Court decision overturning the right to an abortion was leaked last spring, researchers and pundits began to predict the consequences.

A year later, data is beginning to bring the real-life effects into focus. Over a dozen states have near total abortion bans, with several more state bans in the works. At least 26 clinics have closed. In Texas, nearly 10,000 more babies were born in the state since its 2021 "heartbeat bill" took effect.

Continued: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/07/03/1185849391/abortion-access-could-continue-to-change-in-year-2-after-the-overturn-of-roe-v-w

Abortion ‘desert’ in US south is hurting Black women the most

Ten million Black women in the US face high barriers to abortion access, that will be difficult to overcome for many.

By Taylor Johnson and Kelsey Butler
23 Aug 2022

In the weeks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, an abortion desert has ballooned in the US South, where bans are hitting Black women hardest.

Across the country Black patients have an abortion rate roughly four times that of their White peers, in part due to lower use of contraception that leads to higher rates of unintended pregnancies. In the states that have moved quickly to enact restrictions, Black women make up a far larger proportion of abortion seekers than in places where abortion remains legal.

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/23/abortion-desert-in-us-south-is-hurting-black-women-the-most

USA – Escaping an Abortion Desert Isn’t as Simple as Crossing State Lines

Ella Ceron, Bloomberg News
Apr 6, 2022

(Bloomberg) -- As states like Texas and Oklahoma restrict abortion access ahead of a pivotal Supreme Court decision, Americans are being forced to travel farther from home to access care. But leaving town to escape restrictive laws is neither an easy solution nor an equitable one.

Texas is a case in point. Following the signing of a law that bans abortion after about six weeks, an average of 1,400 Texans a month are traveling outside the state for abortions, according to a March study from the University of Texas at Austin’s Texas Policy Evaluation Project. The majority head for New Mexico or Oklahoma — a plan that has now been complicated by the Oklahoma legislature’s April 5th passage of a total abortion ban.

Continued: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/escaping-an-abortion-desert-isn-t-as-simple-as-crossing-state-lines-1.1748626

USA – Telemedicine options for abortion are here to stay

Through pandemic necessity, an ad-hoc, telehealth model for reproductive healthcare is sticking around.

By KYLIE CHEUNG
PUBLISHED JUNE 20, 2021

As much of the country prepares to return to some form of post-pandemic normalcy, reproductive health care providers and advocates hope we continue one vital pandemic tradition: telemedicine options for receiving and providing reproductive care from home.

Some researchers and providers have found offering medication abortion care via telehealth is crucial to bridging gaps in abortion access. Abortion medication care is safe and effective up to 10 weeks into one's pregnancy, and providers say that having a telehealth component to abortion care may even help establish greater medical trust and comfort for patients from marginalized communities seeking care.

Continued: https://www.salon.com/2021/06/20/telehealth-abortion-access-pandemic/

7% of US women attempt self-managed abortions, study suggests

Alexandra Thompson
Fri, 18 December 2020

Around 7% of women in the US attempt a “self-managed abortion” at some point in their life, research suggests.

“Increasing evidence” has highlighted the extent of expecting mothers who try to terminate their pregnancy “outside the formal healthcare system”.

Continued: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/7-us-women-attempt-self-abortion-160005797.html

18.12.2020

self-managed abortion

USA – What to Consider If You Have to Travel for an Abortion

What to Consider If You Have to Travel for an Abortion
It’s a lot to think about. Here’s where to start.

June 21, 2019
By Carolyn L. Todd

Getting an abortion is a safe and legal procedure in this country, but it’s becoming harder and harder to access one. If you’re reading this, you’re probably very aware of the many obstacles that can stand in the way of someone getting an abortion. And those barriers just keep piling up.

At least 378 abortion restrictions were introduced in the first half of 2019 alone, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The intention behind these restrictions is clear: to effectively ban abortion by outlawing the procedures after six weeks of gestation (the time since your last period), which is usually before most people even find out they’re pregnant. Lawmakers in Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, Louisiana, and Missouri voted in favor of such six-week bans. Alabama intends to outlaw abortion unless the life or health of the pregnant person is endangered.

Continued: https://www.self.com/story/travel-for-abortion-considerations

USA – 250 Abortion Restrictions Have Been Introduced In The U.S. This Year Alone, Report Says

250 Abortion Restrictions Have Been Introduced In The U.S. This Year Alone, Report Says

Andrea González-Ramírez
April 1, 2019

Amid constant news of unconstitutional abortion bans like Georgia's "fetal heartbeat bill," passed on Friday, a new report found that anti-choice lawmakers in 41 states have introduced over 250 bills restricting access to abortion care in the first months of 2019 alone. The report was released on Wednesday by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Guttmacher Institute.

For years, conservative lawmakers have relentlessly introduced and passed measures such as waiting periods, targeted regulation of abortion providers (TRAP) laws, limits on abortion medication, and restrictions that dictate at which point in their pregnancies women can terminate them. The anti-choice crusade has led to an uptick in abortion deserts, places where people have to travel 100 miles or more to access care. A total of six states has been left with only one abortion provider to serve the entire state.

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/2019/04/228554/abortion-restrictions-41-states-georgia-fetal-heartbeat-bill-report

USA – A Wave Of New Bills In The U.S. Would Ban Abortion Before Most Women Even Know They’re Pregnant

A Wave Of New Bills In The U.S. Would Ban Abortion Before Most Women Even Know They're Pregnant

Andrea González-Ramírez
March 15, 2019

While U.S. President Donald Trump is banking on the power of inflammatory anti-abortion rhethoric to help him win the White House again, conservative lawmakers in state legislatures across the country are laser-focused on taking the fight to the courts. The road to making abortion illegal in the U.S. again is paved with extreme regulations like so-called “heartbeat bills.”

Since January, nearly a dozen states have introduced this type of legislation, which bans abortion as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected. One of them is Georgia, where the measure could be approved by the state Senate as soon as Monday. The bill passed the House last week and Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has urged lawmakers to send it to his desk.

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-ca/2019/03/227109/abortion-heartbeat-bill-georgia-ohio-six-weeks-pregnant

USA – With abortion clinic restrictions tightening, women want more access at home

With abortion clinic restrictions tightening, women want more access at home
Medication abortion likely meets the FDA criteria for OTC use, but women are still required to get it at a clinic

by Antonia Biggs • Daniel Grossman
November 28, 2018

The website Aid Access recently began offering women in the U.S. the option to obtain an abortion in the privacy of their own homes. U.S. women who are unable to overcome the significant barriers to accessing abortion in a health care setting or prefer the convenience and privacy of home-based care can use the site to purchase a medication abortion product online. While this may seem like a radical approach by U.S. standards, it is likely safe for most women, and especially helpful for women living far from an abortion facility.

The launch of Aid Access comes at a time when women increasingly are faced with restrictions to accessing abortion care. Now more than ever, there is a need to expand the ways that women can obtain the abortion care that they need. Medication abortion, which represents about a third of all abortions provided in health care settings, has the capacity to offer women more choices and to reduce many existing barriers to abortion care.

Continued: https://www.salon.com/2018/11/28/with-abortion-clinic-restrictions-tightening-women-want-more-access-at-home/