The pandemic sparked the rise of tele-abortion. Is it here to stay?

After 20 years in the U.S., medication abortion is finally widely accessible through telehealth. But a looming Supreme Court ruling could change all that.

BY RUTH READER
10.02.2020

In April of this year, when some of Minnesota’s already few abortion clinics started to close because of the pandemic, a new organization popped up with a novel idea: It would bring abortion services to Minnesotans using a mobile clinic. Called Just The Pill, its goal was to connect the state’s most rural corners with medication abortion care, a two-pill regimen that can end a pregnancy.

In the past, it’s been hard for sexual health groups to get medication abortion to people in remote areas. The Food and Drug Administration restricts one of the medications, mifepristone, in several ways. Patients must take the pill at a clinic, for example. On top of that, states have their own rules that can further encumber access. However, the medical data overwhelmingly shows the abortion pill is safe, even to take at home alone. Health experts say politics—not data—are informing these rules.

Continued: https://www.fastcompany.com/90550536/telehealth-abortion-pill-supreme-court-ruling


USA – Medical Abortions Have Changed Abortion Access — And They’re Available on the Internet

Medical Abortions Have Changed Abortion Access — And They’re Available on the Internet

April 23, 2019
by Catherine Trautwein

When Tami, a mother of three in her early 30s, found out she was pregnant, she began researching her options for an abortion. She discovered that there were only three remaining clinics in Louisiana, and the closest was hours from her home. And under state laws, Tami would need to make multiple trips: she would have to first receive an ultrasound and undergo counseling, then wait 24 hours before the actual procedure.

“I know what I want,” she said. “But the laws in the state make it so hard.” Instead, she turned to the internet.

Continued: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/self-managed-induced-medication-abortion/