health I ABORTION PILL
No Picket Lines at the Virtual Abortion Clinic
With a Roe v. Wade reversal looming and states passing abortion restrictions at a breakneck pace, women are increasingly going online to access abortion pills easily and safely
BY CARRIE N. BAKER O WA MT OR ID WY NE NV CA UT CO KS AZ NM TX AK FL HI OK IA IL MO TN AR MS LA AL GA SC IN KY OH WV VA DC NC SD ND MN WI MI PA NJ
DE MD
NY
RI CT
N DEC. 16, 2021, THE FOOD and Drug Administration lift- ed long-standing, medically
unnecessary restrictions on the abor- tion pill mifepristone. As a result, an increasing number of healthcare providers across the country are offer- ing telehealth abortion services— screening patients online and mailing abortion pills to them at home. Despite the FDA ruling, 19 states still have laws requiring patients to see clinicians in person to obtain abortion pills, so people in those states and others where the medication is not
yet available are finding creative ways to access abortion pills by mail. While some brick-and-mortar
providers are starting to offer tele- health abortion, virtual abortion clin- ics are rapidly multiplying across the country. Just the Pill, Choix, Abor- tion on Demand, carafem, Forward Midwifery and Pills by Post are just some of the virtual abortion clinics offering this convenient and afford- able alternative to in-clinic care. At these virtual clinics, patients are
screened for their eligibility to use abortion pills by doctors, midwives
VT NH ME MA
and nurses via videoconference, phone or even online forms. The cli- nicians then send prescriptions to the two pharmacies in the country that mail abortion pills directly to pa- tients: Honeybee Health and Ameri- can Mail Order Pharmacy. Telehealth abortion is affordable,
fast, convenient and private. While in-clinic medication abortion costs an average of $550 in the U.S., virtual providers charge as little as $150. Many virtual clinics work with abor- tion funds to offer sliding-scale fees, and some take insurance and Medi- caid. It’s possible to get online appoint- ments, if required, quickly—often within a day or two—and some providers offer evening and weekend appointments. Pills arrive promptly— usually within one to three days—and providers are available by phone or text to answer questions. In this man- ner, patients never have to cross hos- tile picket lines to access abortion healthcare. Research has shown that telemed-
Allow telemedicine abortion and have providers offering this service.
Do not currently offer telemedicine abortion. Women in these states are obtaining pills by mail through alternate sources, such as Aid Access.
For an easy-to-use guide to finding abortion pills, go to
plancpills.org. 40 | SPRING 2022
icine abortion is very safe and effec- tive. More than 95 percent of those who use abortion pills successfully end their pregnancies, and serious adverse events, such as hemorrhag- ing or infection, occur in just 1 per- cent of cases. In fact, abortion pills are safer than Tylenol, according to researchers at the University of Cali- fornia, San Francisco. The FDA has approved a regimen of one mifepristone pill and four miso-
www.feminist.org
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