FDA Says Abortion Pill Use Limited To 10 Weeks. Others Say Longer
The World Health Organization now says self-managed medication abortions can happen up to 12 weeks, and The Atlantic reports activists around the world say it can be used much later than that. Mobile abortion clinics, access to medication abortion in Florida, and more is also in the news.
The Atlantic:
The Abortion Pill Can Be Used Later Than The FDA Says
When the U.S. finally approved medication abortion in 2000—much delayed because of political controversy—the FDA allowed only self-managed abortions up to seven weeks and did not extend to 10 weeks until 2016. Since then, though, international consensus has shifted with new data. The World Health Organization now recommends 12 weeks, or the end of the first trimester, as the cutoff for self-managing a medication abortion. … In countries where abortion is or until recently had been illegal, such as Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile, activists have for years helped women self-manage medication abortions in the second trimester up to 24 weeks. Different stages in pregnancy just require different doses of the drugs. (Zhang, 6/29)
ABC News:
Mobile Abortion Clinics Ramp Up Operations As Roe V. Wade Is Overturned
Just The Pill, which was founded in 2020, provides reproductive health care services in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana and Wyoming. They also currently operate two mobile clinics in Colorado. The services Just The Pill provides include medication abortion, which is an abortion procedure that uses a combination of pills to terminate a pregnancy. The group announced it would build a fleet of mobile clinics that would travel across the country, specifically in states where abortion remains legal yet surrounding states have banned the procedure, such as Illinois and New Mexico. (Moscufo and Mielke, 6/29)
WUSF Public Media:
Medication Abortion And Other Reproductive Care Is Still Legal In Florida. Here’s How To Access It
Doctors with Planned Parenthood want Floridians to know they are still providing reproductive health care in the state, including abortions. In the days since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, calls to Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida have “skyrocketed,” according to Chief Medical Officer Robyn Schickler. “Patients are calling, if they have appointments, seeing if they still have appointments, calling to see if we’re going to close,” Dr. Schickler said. “And then, even patients that were worried about birth control visits like, ‘What does this mean about birth control, can I still get my birth control?’ So a lot of confusion and hectic chaos.” (Colombini, 6/29)
On Plan B and other contraceptives —
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Hospital System Does About-Face On Emergency Contraceptives, Says Missouri Law Unclear
A Kansas City-area hospital system decided late Wednesday to resume providing emergency contraceptives after not making them available to patients in the wake of Missouri’s new abortion ban. But concern and confusion over their use remain.
(Munz and Suntrup, 6/29)
Missouri Independent:
Abortion Ban Does Not Prohibit Plan B Or Contraception In Missouri
After at least one hospital system in Missouri stopped providing emergency contraception because of ambiguity in the state’s abortion ban, Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s office clarified Wednesday that contraception is not prohibited under state law. “Missouri law does not prohibit the use or provision of Plan B, or contraception,” said Chris Nuelle, a spokesman for Schmitt. The Kansas City Star first reported late Tuesday night that Saint Luke’s Health System in Kansas City was no longer providing emergency contraception, citing the “ambiguous” nature of Missouri’s trigger ban. (Weinberg and Kite, 6/29)
AP:
Amazon, Rite Aid Cap Purchase Of Emergency Contraceptives
Amazon is limiting how many emergency contraceptives consumers can buy, joining other retailers who put in place similar caps following the Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade. Amazon’s limit, which temporarily caps purchase of the contraceptives at three units per week, went into effect on Monday, a spokesperson for the e-commerce giant confirmed to The Associated Press. (Hadero, 6/30)
The Wall Street Journal:
Online Healthcare Companies Increase Advertising For Morning-After Pill
Companies that sell sexual health products and medicines over the internet are shifting their marketing strategies to highlight the availability of mail-order emergency contraception, commonly known as morning-after pills. … Some online providers are encouraging customers to stock up for later emergencies. (Deighton, 6/29)
NBC News:
Black Women Are Underserved When It Comes To Birth Control Access. The Roe Decision Could Make That Worse.
The Supreme Court’s ruling to gut nationwide rights to abortion last week has highlighted the importance of access to birth control, which already proves difficult for many women of color due to discrimination, stigma and systemic barriers in the health care system. (Bellamy, 6/30)
Interest in vasectomies has surged —
Kansas City Star:
Considering Vasectomy After Roe V Wade Was Overturned?
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned on Friday and Missouri’s trigger ban outlawed nearly all abortion in the state, interest in vasectomies has been on the rise around Kansas City. Since the ruling dropped on Friday, The Kansas City Urology Care, which has about a dozen locations in the region, has seen nearly a 90% increase in vasectomy consultation, according to urologist, Dr. Christian Hettinger. Vasectomies are a safe and effective form of birth control for people who have sperm and are trying to prevent pregnancy, but Kansas City doctors warned they are intended to be permanent. (Phillips, 6/30)
Pandemic Pushed Maternal Deaths Up 33%: End Of Roe May Make It Worse
Some states banning abortion already have high mortality rates. Vox notes Black women are expected to be hit worse.
NBC News:
‘No Question’ That U.S. Maternal Mortality Rate Will Rise Post-Roe, Experts Say
An analysis published Tuesday in JAMA Network Open found that maternal deaths increased in 2020 by as much as 41% after the pandemic was declared. The increases were starkest for Hispanic and Black women. As states across the country curtail access to abortion, women’s health advocates and researchers foresee the maternal mortality rate and its racial disparities only getting worse — particularly because states that are banning abortion are often the ones that already have high maternal mortality rates. (Chuck, 6/30)
ABC News:
US Maternal Mortality Increased 33% During Pandemic, Hitting Black And Hispanic Women Especially Hard
Hispanic women had nine more deaths per 100,000 births, a 74% increase from the years before the pandemic. Non-Hispanic Black women had 16.8 more deaths per 100,000 births, a 40% increase from previous numbers. White women, however, had only 2.9 more deaths per 100,000 births, a change of 17%. (Dumlao, 6/28)
CIDRAP:
Maternal Deaths Climbed 33% During COVID-19
For underlying cause-of-death codes, the authors determined that the largest relative increase was among indirect causes (56.9%), specifically other viral diseases (2,374.7%), diseases of the respiratory system (117.7%), and diseases of the circulatory system (72.1%). Relative increases in direct causes (27.7%) were mostly associated with diabetes in pregnancy (95.9%), high blood pressure (39.0%), and other pregnancy-related conditions (48.0%). (Wappes, 6/29)
Vox:
Black Women Will Suffer The Most Without Abortion Access
Black women have the highest rates of maternal mortality and pregnancy complications, and those risks will only increase if more Black women have to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. Here are the numbers that show how alarming the situation is. (Cineas, 6/29)
