More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Pregnant and need not to be? You have options—no matter where you live. Here’s what you need to know.
Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, CEO of nonprofit Power to Decide and practicing OB-GYN, is dedicated to educating people on abortion and the healthcare options that come with it. #AskDrRaegan provides candid, judgment-free sexual health information to young people by meeting them where they are: on social media.
Check out TikTok users’ top questions on abortion and birth control, answered by Dr. Raegan.
“You can get on the phone with a doctor, and get abortion pills by mail within a few days,” said Healthcare Across Borders (HCAB) founder Jodi Jacobson—even in states with abortion bans.
HCAB has launched a new Abortion Pill Sustainability Fund to support shield-state clinicians serving patients in states banning abortion. Abortion services are provided to people located in states banning abortion from the six states with telemedicine provider shield laws: Massachusetts, Washington, Colorado, Vermont, New York and California.
Abortion funds are local nonprofits that pay for someone’s abortion, plus extra costs, like transportation or lodging. Their role in the abortion access movement has increased since the fall of Roe. Ms. will feature interviews weeks with fund representatives across the U.S. Each installment will focus on a distinct region—beginning in the Southeast, where every single state in the region has implemented abortion restrictions.
“No human being should ever feel like, ‘Well, I’ve got to figure out what I want to do with this pregnancy by midnight tonight, or else.'” “I enter the work in rage. I am doing abortion access work in sheer rage and spite.”
Too often, we hear stories of people unable to obtain the abortions they desperately want and need—like Ashley, a 13-year-old rape survivor in Clarksdale, Miss., who was forced to continue her pregnancy due to financial constraints.
Resources like the National Abortion Hotline and other abortion funds could have helped Ashley and her mother understand their options, plan their travel and even cover the costs of gas, food and a place to stay during the trip. But Ashley’s doctor isn’t to blame for the incorrect and insufficient information given to Ashley and her mother—anti-abortion lawmakers and extremists are.
On Tuesday, Sept. 12, reproductive health experts launched a new online chatbot named Charley to help abortion seekers in all 50 states find quick, accurate and confidential abortion information, tailored to their individual needs and circumstances.
Charley only asks for a user’s zip code and date of their last period to determine how far along they are in their pregnancy. Charley also makes referrals to medical and legal support services, as well as community support networks. Co-founded by former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards and the former head of Planned Parenthood’s digital department Tom Subak, Charley launched in partnership with INeedAnA.com, Plan C and the Miscarriage + Abortion (M+A) Hotline.
“There’s a lot of fear and confusion out there about how abortion is available, especially in restricted states, and there are different resources out there. But there hasn’t been a single resource that includes all the information. Charley does that,” said Elisa Wells, co-director of Plan C. “Charley walks people through their options and then directs them to the resources that are available to help them find more specific information.”
Telemedicine abortion provider shield laws have led to significantly quicker shipping times for people living in restrictive states—from several weeks to several days—which is critical for this time-sensitive medical care.
Between mid-June and mid-July, seven Aid Access clinicians located across these five states mailed pills to 3,500 people located in states banning abortion. “It shows what people want,” said Julie F. Kaye, co-founder of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine Access
Community support networks are now providing free abortion pills to those living in states with bans, and dozens of companies are now offering abortion pills online for as little as $37, with prompt delivery in all 50 states.
Since the fall of Roe, at least 66 clinics have stopped providing abortion care. Many people have found essential care by purchasing abortion pills online and having them delivered by mail.
As we continue into the post-Roe future, we must address the inequalities that limit these innovations in states where telehealth is legal, but also in states where it is illegal.
As an obstetrician and gynecologist providing abortion care in the Midwest, I’m fervently hoping mifepristone will remain available—not only for my patients seeking to end a pregnancy, but also for those who have miscarried.
In a shadow docket ruling late on Friday, April 21, the Supreme Court has decided to block a previous ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit from taking effect, allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to remain on the market under current rules.
“While SCOTUS offered temporary relief, the fate of a medication approved by the FDA more than 20 years ago should have never been before the Supreme Court to begin with,” said Kirsten Moore of Expanding Medication Abortion Access Project.
