The US Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments tomorrow about mifepristone, the abortion-inducing drug used in medication abortions, potentially limiting or ending the distribution of the drug by mail. That’s a scary prospect for women whose 50-year-old right to make their own medical decisions was stripped away by the same SCOTUS in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The Washington Post is reporting on a JAMA study published today that discusses the increased distribution of mifepristone by mail into states with abortion restrictions since Dobbs. The article is worth reading for many reasons. But my takeaway is that women do not want their rights restricted and are finding ways to fight back.
The upcoming Supreme Court case could have significant implications for people taking abortion pills in states with bans, potentially preventing U.S. providers from utilizing shield laws.
Abortion rights leaders say they will continue to mail pills into antiabortion states, regardless of whether it’s legal. [bolding mine]
“The reality is that medication abortion and telemedicine will continue — but whether it continues from licensed providers, aboveboard, without stigma … is something we have to really be aware of and fighting for,” said Julie Kay, the executive director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, an abortion rights group.
If there is any good news in this ongoing story, it is that the movement to ban abortions in red states has led to vastly increased efforts to make abortion more easily available for women affected by the bans. Abortion providers in blue states are seeing a dramatic increase in out-of-state women seeking abortions. International organizations that had focused on women’s health care in developing countries have now shifted their focus to the US.
Abortion pills have become even easier to get since the immediate aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, with new suppliers appearing regularly and existing suppliers expanding to absorb more demand.
Shield laws in blue states have allowed medical providers to mail abortion pills into red states without fear of legal reprisals. However, an adverse SCOTUS ruling could override those shield laws and put those providers at risk again.
While Europe-based Aid Access, the largest of these groups, initially relied on pharmacies in India to mail pills to patients in states with bans, the organization has now started allowing U.S.-based doctors to prescribe and mail the pills themselves, making use of “shield laws” recently passed in several Democratic-led states to protect the providers from prosecution. That change has reduced Aid Access’s shipping time from several weeks to a few days.
Women are not happy that their rights are being taken away. As SCOTUS makes rulings to limit the right to choose for American women, pro-choice organizations are stepping up to make sure that women get the health care they need. Betting against American women is a fool’s errand. Republicans have poked the bear.