USA – Consumer Group Urges FDA to Crack Down on Unapproved ‘Abortion Reversal’ Procedure

Consumer Group Urges FDA to Crack Down on Unapproved ‘Abortion Reversal’ Procedure

By Stephanie Russell-Kraft
on June 17, 2020

A consumer watchdog group is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to shut down a group of websites advertising a so-called abortion pill reversal, a potentially dangerous treatment that is not FDA-approved.

One of the sites, called Abortion Pill Rescue, markets what it calls “an effective process called abortion pill reversal that can reverse the effects of the abortion pill.” The site, run by Heartbeat International, a Christian anti-abortion organization, directs visitors to a hotline that can guide them through the procedure. “If you have taken the first dose of the abortion pill and regret it, you are not alone,” the website reads. “We can help you!”

Continued: https://www.fairwarning.org/2020/06/consumer-group-urges-fda-to-crack-down-on-unapproved-abortion-reversal-procedure/

Texas 5th Circuit abortion ruling reveals how GOP using coronavirus to oppress women

Texas 5th Circuit abortion ruling reveals how GOP using coronavirus to oppress women
Because what better time is there to force pregnant people to give birth than during an unprecedented public health emergency.

April 1, 2020
By Danielle Campoamor

Yesterday, in New York City, one person died every four minutes from the coronavirus that has now killed more Americans than the 9/11 terrorist attacks. As of Wednesday, there have been more than 190,000 confirmed cases in the United States, and health officials estimate as many as 200,000 people could perish. A reported 265 million Americans in 30 states have been ordered to shelter-in-place, school is closed for 30 million children, as many as 47 million Americans could lose their jobs, and the apex of infection is nowhere in sight.

Some in the so-called “pro-life” party of “family values” are using this crisis to limit access to abortion.

continued: https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/texas-5th-circuit-abortion-ruling-reveals-how-gop-using-coronavirus-ncna1173996

Telemedicine Abortion: What It Is and Why We Need It Now More Than Ever

Telemedicine Abortion: What It Is and Why We Need It Now More Than Ever

3/26/2020
by Carrie N. Baker

Antiabortion politicians in states across the country are using the COVID-19 pandemic to block access to abortion—arguing abortion is not essential health care and supporting limitations in the interest of conserving personal protective equipment for COVID-19 cases.

Medical experts, however, are coming to the exact opposite conclusion.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and seven other medical organizations issued a statement last week declaring that abortion is time-sensitive, essential health care and that lack of access may “profoundly impact a person’s life, health and well-being.”

Continued: https://msmagazine.com/2020/03/26/telemedicine-abortion-what-it-is-and-why-we-need-it-now-more-than-ever/

The FDA Could Improve Abortion Access Under Coronavirus But It Won’t

The FDA Could Improve Abortion Access Under Coronavirus But It Won't
Abortion pills have to be picked up in person at a clinic. Advocates say that has to change during the pandemic.

by Christine Grimaldi
Mar 19 2020

When Donald Trump used “two very big words” to declare a national emergency over the novel coronavirus on Friday, he bragged about giving his top health official the “ability to waive laws to enable telehealth” during the pandemic. But it appears that the president’s latitude will not apply to medication abortion care, a federal agency confirmed to VICE.

People who want to end their pregnancies will have to navigate the same restrictions as always, which will become all the more complicated in a pandemic environment.

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/epg85a/fda-refuses-to-improve-abortion-pill-access-under-coronavirus

USA – New Law Would Force Abortion Doctors to Do the Impossible — or Face Charges

New Law Would Force Abortion Doctors to Do the Impossible — or Face Charges

By Katie Heaney
Dec 5, 2019

A 700-page anti-abortion bill proposed by Ohio state legislators includes a strange side provision that would require doctors to “reimplant an ectopic pregnancy” into a woman’s uterus or face charges of “abortion murder.” But ectopic pregnancy is the term for a pregnancy that grows outside the uterus and thus will never produce a baby.

Doctors (as well as anyone familiar with the ins and outs of pregnancy) say such a procedure is medically impossible, and not for the first time — when the bill was first introduced in May, OB/GYN and researcher Daniel Grossman called the idea “pure science fiction” on Twitter. Given that the bill’s author has pointed to a case study from 1917, he’s barely exaggerating.

Continued: https://www.thecut.com/2019/12/ectopic-pregnancies-have-nothing-to-do-with-abortion.html

USA – The new bill that would create a crime called “abortion murder,” explained

The new bill that would create a crime called “abortion murder,” explained
It could be the future of the anti-abortion movement.

By Anna North
Dec 5, 2019

Ohio legislators last month introduced a measure that would, if passed, become the most restrictive abortion law in the country.

The bill creates a new felony called “abortion murder,” making people who have or perform abortions subject to life in prison. It also includes a provision suggesting that doctors should attempt to reimplant an ectopic pregnancy in a patient’s uterus, a procedure medical experts say is not possible with current medical technology.

continued: https://www.vox.com/2019/12/5/20994296/ohio-abortion-murder-hb-413-reimplant-ectopic

USA – Pregnant people are being offered an unproven treatment to “reverse” abortions

Pregnant people are being offered an unproven treatment to “reverse” abortions
There’s no real evidence that it works — and no data on the side effects.

By Anna North
Nov 11, 2019

“Even if you’ve taken the abortion pill, you can still change your mind,” proclaims the website of a group called Alternatives Pregnancy Center.

The center offers what it calls “abortion pill reversal,” a treatment it claims can stop a medication abortion that’s already been started. Many organizations around the country are beginning to offer the procedure, and a growing number of states require that patients seeking abortions be told about it.

Continued: https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/11/11/20953337/abortion-pill-reversal-ohio-bill-law-pregnancy

Why America’s Abortion Rate Might Be Higher Than It Appears

Why America’s Abortion Rate Might Be Higher Than It Appears
Evidence suggests more American women are “self-managing” their abortions.

By Claire Cain Miller and Margot Sanger-Katz
Sept. 20, 2019

The number of abortions performed in American clinics was lower in 2017 than in any year since abortion became legal nationwide in 1973, new data showed this week. But that does not count a growing number of women who are managing their abortions themselves, without going to a medical office — often by buying pills illicitly.

These “invisible” abortions are hard to measure, so it’s unclear how much higher the true abortion rate is. But researchers say self-managed abortions have risen as abortion has become more restricted in certain states, and as more people have learned that effective pills can be ordered online or purchased across the border.

Continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/upshot/abortion-pills-rising-use.html

USA – Facebook Took Down A Fact-Check Of An Anti-Abortion Video After Republicans Complained

Facebook Took Down A Fact-Check Of An Anti-Abortion Video After Republicans Complained
The fact-check was conducted by three doctors who determined an anti-abortion activist's claim that "abortion is never medically necessary" was false.

Claudia Koerner, BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on September 11, 2019

Facebook on Wednesday removed a fact-check conducted by doctors of an anti-abortion activist's video, which falsely claimed abortion was never necessary to save women's lives, after four Republican senators complained.

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, Kevin Cramer, and Mike Braun sent a letter to Facebook on Wednesday, accusing the company of censorship and bias against conservatives. At issue were two videos published by anti-abortion group Live Action and its founder, Lila Rose, which were rated as inaccurate by an independent fact-checking group.

Continued: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/claudiakoerner/facebook-fact-check-abortion-video-doctors-medical

This life-threatening pregnancy complication is the next frontier in the abortion debate

This life-threatening pregnancy complication is the next frontier in the abortion debate
Ectopic pregnancies can be deadly if left untreated. But abortion opponents are telling another story.

By Anna North
Sep 11, 2019

Ectopic pregnancies can be deadly.

The condition happens in about 2 percent of all pregnancies, when a fertilized egg implants somewhere outside the uterus — usually in the fallopian tube, a tiny structure connecting the uterus to the ovary. If the pregnancy continues to grow and develop, the tube can rupture, and the pregnant person can hemorrhage and die.

In most cases, the only way to treat an ectopic pregnancy is to terminate it with medication or surgery. But now, some abortion opponents are arguing that patients with ectopic pregnancies can simply be monitored until they miscarry — or even that such pregnancies can be carried to term.

Continued: https://www.vox.com/2019/9/11/20859034/ectopic-pregnancy-abortion-federalist-intrauterine-ohio-surgery