Just the Pill, a nonprofit organization that arranges for patients to obtain abortion pills in several states, received almost 100 requests for appointments in the hours after the Supreme Court's decision.
Patients in Texas and other states that stopped abortions after the court ruling made up most of the appointments.
Abortion pills, already used in more than half of recent abortions in the U.S., are becoming even more sought-after, and will likely be at the center of the legal battles that are expected to unfold as about half the states
The method can be used in the first 10 weeks of a pregnant woman's life. It involves taking two different drugs at the same time, 24 to 48 hours apart, to stop the development of a pregnant woman and then to cause her to lose her baby.
Many patients choose medication abortion because it is less expensive, less intrusive and affords more privacy than surgical abortions, and the pills can be taken at home, or even just by filling out an online form.
Even if the patient is on the phone in a car just over the border, they still have to participate in the consultation from a state that allows abortion. The clinic can identify where they are using the internet or phone's address.
States that ban all forms of abortion are likely to faceenforcement challenges. Sending pills through the mail or traveling to a state where pills are legal to have a consultation are things that are harder to police than shutting down a clinic.
There is no such thing as a time machine when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry.
All forms of abortion are banned in many conservative states. Nineteen states already have laws prohibiting the use of telemedicine for abortions. Sending abortion pills through the mail was banned in Texas. Some state governments that support abortion rights are helping patients get the pills in states where they are legal.
Just the Pill has provided abortion pills by mail to patients in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana and Wyoming since October 2020. Dr. Julie Amaon, the organization's medical director, said that the first of a fleet of mobile clinics would be deployed in Colorado within a few days.
The clinic-on-wheels program, which will also provide surgical abortions for patients who prefer it or are too far along in pregnancy for a medication abortion, is designed to reach patients from nearby states that quickly banned abortion after the court.
Dr. Amaon said that by operating on state borders, they will reduce travel burdens for patients in states with restrictions. By moving beyond a traditional brick-and- mortar clinic, our mobile clinics can quickly adapt to the courts, state legislatures, and the markets.
Abortion providers are planning for an influx. Hey Jane has served nearly 10,000 patients in California, Colorado, Illinois, New Mexico, New York and Washington. The chief executive said that they have increased their team to cope with the increased demand.
The rise in interest in medication abortion is being countered by anti-abortion groups who claim it is unsafe. The Charlotte Lozier Institute, an arm of Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America, said on Friday that the safety of the abortion pill is overstated.
It's not known how states that ban all or most abortions will enforce their laws in cases of medication abortions. Two cabinet members immediately released statements promising to protect the right to take medicine that had been approved by the federal government.
Every American has access to health care and the ability to make decisions about health care, including the right to safe and legal abortion, such as medication abortion that has been approved by the F.D.A. for over two decades.
The first drug in the abortion regimen was referred to by the attorney general. In December, the F.D.A. lifted the requirement that patients visit an authorized clinic or doctor in person to get the drug.
Mr. Garland said that they were ready to work with other arms of the federal government to protect reproductive care. The medication has been approved by the F.D.A. The F.D.A.'s expert judgment about its safety and efficacy can't be used as the basis for banning the drug.
It is not clear what the DOJ can do. State actions to restrict a drug's use may be pre-empted by federal drug approval. It only applies to cases where a state claims that safety is an issue.
When abortion is allowed, it can be regulated in a health and safety way, but it can also be completely banned.
She said that the federal government can only assert that the F.D.A.'s approval takes precedence over state laws.
Since the mail is overseen by the federal government, the Justice Department could be involved in fighting the abortion restrictions.
The F.D.A. said in a statement that its independent and regulatory decisions are based on science and facts.
Patients should have access to medications that are safe and effective for their F.D.A. approved use.
The F.D.A. imposed strict restrictions on the drug after it was approved for use in the US. The F.D.A. expanded the time frame for taking the drug from seven weeks to 10 weeks into a pregnant woman.
Data shows that medication abortion is safe. According to the F.D.A., 95 percent of the 1,157 abortions that took place through the program between May 2016 and September 2020 were completed without any follow-up procedures. According to the study, patients made 70 visits to emergency rooms.
More patients chose to take pills because they could be taken in the privacy of one's home, as conservative states passed more restrictions on surgical abortions.
That trend was fueled by the covid epidemic. 54 percent of all abortions in 2020 were medication abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Aid Access, a European organization that the F.D.A. tried to stop from mailing pills to the United States, is expected to be used by patients as a way to obtain the pills.
Mary Ziegler, a law professor at the University of California, Davis, who has written extensively on abortion, said in an interview last month that there may be attempts by states to ban abortion in other states.
States where abortion is legal are increasing access to it. Connecticut passed a bill that would prevent abortion providers from being extradited to other states and bar Connecticut authorities from cooperating with abortion investigations from a patient's home state. Patients who travel from other states to obtain abortions would be helped by legislation in California.
Patients who traveled to other states to get an abortion would be protected by the constitutional right to interstate travel according to an opinion concurring with the Supreme Court.
Most states have followed a principle of targeting providers and others who help patients, but not the patients themselves, when it comes to restricting abortion. There may be no one else in that state to go after the patient if the abortion takes place outside the state's borders.
Reporting from Washington was done byKatie Benner.
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