In the days after the Supreme Court's 2022 Dobbs decision was leaked, requests for abortion pills from non-pregnant women skyrocketed. According to research Published on Tuesday.
The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, cited data from telemedicine abortion pill provider Aid Access, which noted that requests to the group spiked in May 2022, when the Supreme Court's draft decision was leaked. There was found.
From September 2021 to May 2022, Aid Access received approximately 25 requests per day. After Dobbs' decision was leaked, the group recorded nearly 250 requests per day.
Applications decreased slightly after the ruling was formally announced, but spiked again after discrepancies in the court's spring 2023 ruling regarding the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone.
Medication abortion, a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol, is the most common method of terminating a pregnancy in the United States, accounting for more than half of all abortions in the country. Mifepristone has been used by more than 5 million people since it was approved in 2000 and is legal to use within 10 weeks of pregnancy.
The Supreme Court last month agreed to hear appeals from the Biden administration and drug companies, and other restrictions restrict access to abortion pills via telemedicine prescriptions or by mail, even in states where abortions are performed. It asked the High Court to overturn the Court of Appeal's decision to exclude it. It's legal.
No date has been set for arguments, but a decision is likely in June, almost exactly two years after the same justice overturned Roe v. Wade.
Between September 1, 2021 and April 30, 2023, Aid Access received 48,404 requests for abortion pills from women who were not pregnant but wanted the medication just in case. This is an act called advance provision.
Requests for advance provision were highest in states considering future abortion bans, even compared to states that already have some restrictions in place.
The claimants said they were motivated by a desire to maintain reproductive autonomy and protect against possible abortion restrictions.
Compared to those who seek self-managed abortion, those who choose pre-provision are more likely to be over 30, self-identify as white, have no children, and live in urban areas where poverty rates are lower than the national average. it was high.
The study concluded that demographic differences in those requesting advance provision compared with self-management likely reflect structural barriers to reproductive health. This may also be related to aided access functionality. The organization charges $150 for those who want the pills in advance, but offers sliding scale financial assistance for those who are pregnant.
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