Survey finds 8,000 women a month got abortion pills despite their states' bans or restrictions
A new survey says medical providers were prescribing abortion pills to about 8,000 women a month in states with abortion bans or bans on telehealth abortions by the end of 2023
Though their states severely restrict abortion or place limits on having one through telehealth, about 8,000 women per month late last year were getting abortion pills by mail from states with legal protections for prescribers, a new survey finds.
Tuesday's release of the #WeCount report is the first time a number has been put on how often the medical system workaround is being used. The research was conducted for the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion rights.
The group found that by December 2023, providers in states with the protections were prescribing pills to about 6,000 women a month in states where abortion was banned at all stages of pregnancy or once cardiac activity can be detected — about six weeks, often before women realize they're pregnant. The prescriptions also were going to about 2,000 women a month in states where the local laws limit abortion pill prescriptions by telemedicine.
“People ... are using the various mechanisms to get pills that are out there,” Drexel University law professor David Cohen said. This "is not surprising based on what we know throughout human history and across the world: People will find a way to terminate pregnancies they don't want.”
