USA – The Biggest Ob-Gyn Group Donates a Lot to Anti-Abortion Politicians

BY HALEY WEISS
MAY 1, 2023

A new analysis shows that the U.S.’s largest professional organization of ob-gyns has spent a considerable amount of money in the last decade helping anti-abortion legislators get elected to Congress. From 2012 to 2022, of the 294 federal legislators who received campaign donations via the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) political action committee, 39.5% have actively worked to constrain abortion access in the country. Of those donation recipients, 70 explicitly opposed Roe v. Wade.

These data, published Apr. 28 as a research letter in JAMA Network Open, are surprising in the context of ACOG’s stated support of abortion rights and access, says lead author Dr. Benjamin Brown, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Brown University’s medical school. ACOG’s website says that abortion “is essential for people’s health, safety, and well-being.”

Continued: https://time.com/6276073/acog-ob-gyn-anti-abortion-politicians/

01.05.2023

News

ACOG

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

How an unproven abortion ‘reversal’ treatment has advanced in the US

By Samantha Putterman
April 4, 2022

When Texas enacted a ban on abortions as early as six weeks into pregnancy, an international women’s health advocacy nonprofit organization saw a 1,100% increase in orders for so-called abortion pills.

The two-drug combination enables women to terminate their pregnancies within the first 10 weeks. Though the spike in demand has since leveled off at Aid Access, purchases hovered around 175% higher than usual in the months after the Texas law took effect.

Continued: https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/apr/04/abortions-reversible-how-unproven-abortion-r/

FDA says abortion pills can be sent by mail

By Tierney Sneed, CNN
Thu December 16, 2021

(CNN)The US Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is lifting a requirement that patients seeking medication abortion had to pick up the medication in-person, instead allowing pills to be sent by mail. The move comes as the Supreme Court is poised to undo its abortion rights precedent.

Relaxing the federal restrictions on medication abortion is one thing that the Biden administration could do mitigate the fallout from a Roe v. Wade reversal, but red states are already on the march to counteract what the federal government has opted to do.

Continued: https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/16/politics/medication-abortion-fda-supreme-court/index.html

Byron Calhoun says abortion is never necessary to save a mother’s life. He’s the only high-risk OB/GYN in central West Virginia.

By Caroline Kitchener
Sept. 10, 2021

At a 2019 antiabortion conference in Ontario, Canada, Byron Calhoun was introduced as a “messenger of God.”

The doctor assumed the podium in a pinstripe suit and bow tie, his high forehead glinting underneath the hotel ballroom’s bright fluorescents. Dozens of conference-goers clapped, then grew quiet, eyes fixed on Calhoun and the statistic that brought them all there, blown up on a banner behind him: “1 out of every 5 babies is killed by abortion.”

Continued: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/the-lily/antiabortion-doctor-obgyn-care/

10.09.2021

American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Charleston Area Medical Center

Christian Medical Fellowship

Family Policy Council

National Institute of Family and Life Advocates

perinatal hospice

polycystic kidney disease

state medical boards

Steve Calvin

Women’s Health Center

The post-Ginsburg Supreme Court’s first abortion case

BY KATE SMITH, CBS NEWS
OCTOBER 5, 2020

In the wake of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, millions of Americans wondered what the future of abortion access might look like. They won't wait long to find out.

Any day now, the current eight-justice Supreme Court is expected to issue its first decision on abortion access. The case, Food and Drug Administration v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, considers abortion via pill and whether patients, in the midst of a deadly pandemic, should still be required to make an in-person trip to a doctor's office in order to receive the medication.

Continued: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/supreme-court-abortion-case-ruth-bader-ginsburg/

USA – Medication Abortion Access Is About to Radically Change

Monday's ruling could be the first step in making medication abortion easier—and safe—to access.

Jul 15, 2020
Jessica Mason Pieklo

Medication abortion access just got a little easier and safer for patients during the COVID-19 crisis. It’s about damn time, and it should stay this way forever.

A federal judge in Maryland issued an order on Monday blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a restriction that prevents patients from accessing medication abortion without a doctor’s visit, on the grounds that it likely unduly burdens abortion rights in the middle of a pandemic.

Continued: https://rewire.news/article/2020/07/15/medication-abortion-access-is-about-to-radically-change/

USA – Women Can Now Get The Abortion Pill Through The Mail

In a victory for reproductive rights, many patients seeking medication abortion will no longer have to travel during the pandemic for care.

07/13/2020
By Melissa Jeltsen, HuffPost US

For the first time ever, U.S. women seeking to terminate a pregnancy using medication abortion will be able to legally obtain the pills through the mail, avoiding the need for an in-person doctor’s visit.

A federal court ruled on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration must suspend a rule that requires patients to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain mifepristone, a drug used to terminate pregnancies, during the coronavirus pandemic.

Continued: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/women-can-now-get-the-abortion-pill-through-the-mail_n_5f0cdedfc5b6310dc1575be4?utm_hp_ref=ca-us-politics

USA – Medication Abortion and Telemedicine: Innovations and Barriers During the COVID-19 Emergency

Medication Abortion and Telemedicine: Innovations and Barriers During the COVID-19 Emergency

Amrutha Ramaswamy, Gabriela Weigel, Laurie Sobel
Jun 08, 2020

State actions in response to the COVID-19 crisis have highlighted their divergent approaches to abortion access. Some states classified abortion as a non-essential service, effectively banning services, while others have clarified that abortion is an essential service. In a handful of states, some clinics have begun to offer medication abortions using telemedicine. This approach maintains access to abortion while social distancing, preserving personal protective equipment (PPE), and limiting in-person health care visits and risk of exposure.

In 2017, 39% of all abortions in the U.S. were medication abortions (also known as abortions induced by pills). These abortions are provided using two medications, mifepristone and misoprostol. While public knowledge about medication abortion is very low, even fewer people may be aware that telemedicine can aid in the provision of this service. Research shows that providing medication abortion by telemedicine is clinically feasible and safe, but COVID-19 has highlighted the impact of new and existing federal and state restrictions on providing abortions using this approach.

Continued: https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-policy-watch/medication-abortion-telemedicine-innovations-and-barriers-during-the-covid-19-emergency/

USA – Telemedicine Abortion Gains Momentum During Pandemic

Telemedicine Abortion Gains Momentum During Pandemic
— But FDA regulations on mifepristone still limit access

by Amanda D'Ambrosio, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
June 2, 2020

As access to in-person abortion clinics dwindled during the COVID-19 pandemic, providers have seen increased demand and awareness of another method of abortion care: telemedicine.

Melissa Grant, chief operating officer of carafem, a national abortion and birth control clinic, said that "there's definitely been a marked increase" in telemedicine abortions since stay-at-home orders were put in place.

Continued: https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/exclusives/86841

USA – New Lawsuit Challenges FDA Restriction That Imposes Life-Threatening Risks on Patients Seeking Abortion and Miscarriage Care

New Lawsuit Challenges FDA Restriction That Imposes Life-Threatening Risks on Patients Seeking Abortion and Miscarriage Care
ACLU, leading medical experts and reproductive justice advocates ask court to block FDA restriction that subjects patients and clinicians to needless COVID-19 risk

May 27, 2020

WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit today on behalf of a coalition of medical experts led by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). The legal action challenges a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule that subjects patients to unnecessary COVID-19 risks as a condition of receiving a medication used for early abortion and miscarriage treatment.

Continued: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/new-lawsuit-challenges-fda-restriction-imposes-life-threatening-risks-patients