So-called telemedicine abortions are as safe as medical abortions in the presence of a doctor, according to a study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Nineteen states require a doctor to be present when a woman takes an abortion pill, purportedly to protect her safety. But this study shows that this hurdle confers no benefits. Women are just as safe when they can consult with a doctor via teleconferencing.
That hasn’t stopped anti-choice activists from lying about the study. A headline in the National Review suggests the study came to the opposite conclusion. That’s nothing new. Research published in 2016 found that media coverage of abortion often features men lying about abortion.
Telemedicine: A Safe, Affordable Abortion Option
The study followed women who sought a medical abortion—abortion via pill—at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Iowa between 2008-2015. About half of the women (8,765) received an abortion via telemedicine, in which a doctor offered teleconferencing support after the woman took the abortion pill. The other half (10,405) took an abortion pill in the presence of a doctor.
Only 49 complications occurred. The complications were minor, and did not require surgery or result in any deaths—a fact pointing to the overall safety of abortion. Researchers also found no statistically significant differences between women who underwent telemedicine abortions and those who sought abortions in person. In fact, there were slightly fewer complications among the telemedicine group.
Telemedicine saves doctors and patients time. It can reduce stigma by allowing a woman to begin the process of a medical abortion in her own home. And it may save money, since doctors don’t have to tend to a patient in person. This study suggests women can gain these benefits without endangering their health.
Anti-Choicers Continue to Lie About Telemedicine Abortion
Though the study clearly points to the safety of telemedicine abortion, the National Review headline about the study says just the opposite: “‘Telemed’ Abortions Pose Health Risks.” The article criticizes the study for not holding constant the gestational age of the fetus, or controlling for socioeconomic or other demographic factors that increase the likelihood of pregnancy and abortion complications.
This, however, does not prove that telemedicine abortion is unsafe, or even undermine the conclusions of the study. It merely suggests that we don’t yet know how demographic and other differences might affect the relative safety of telemedicine abortions.
The article goes on to site “studies” that found higher rates of complications than the latest research. But the article does not link to these studies or provide any information about their methodology. By not offering these details, the writer makes it impossible for readers to review the research themselves. I was curious about this “research” so conducted a brief Google Scholar search for studies matching those mentioned in the article. The only research I could find was research that found medical abortions to be extremely safe.
How Anti-Choice Lies Affect Policy (and Women)
Debates about whether telemedicine abortion is safe aren’t just esoteric medical questions. They have real policy implications. Anti-choice activists managed to ban telemedicine abortion in Iowa, the state where the research occurred, citing safety concerns. The Iowa Supreme Court overruled the ban in 2015, finding that the ban placed an “undue burden” on women. Yet telemedicine abortions remain illegal in 19 states, forcing women to waste time and money on needless medical visits.
Want to Protect Women? Increase Abortion Access
The lie that abortion is unsafe is just one more tactic of anti-choice zealots. Research consistently shows that abortion saves lives. A 2017 study that looked at global maternal mortality found a clear link between maternal deaths and inadequate abortion access. According to the study, increasing abortion access—with tactics such as allowing midwives to perform abortions, decreasing regulations, and making the abortion pill more accessible—could save lives.
Another study, which looked at low-income women who underwent abortions, found that decreased access to abortion clinics increased abortion costs and post-abortion emergency room visits.
Anti-choice activists remain deafeningly silent on a much more urgent women’s health issue. More than 300,000 women die of pregnancy-related complications each year. The U.S. is experiencing a surge in maternal mortality, and is the only industrialized nation in which pregnancy-related deaths have increased.