Explained: Can abortion pills help bypass state ban in aftermath of SC ruling on Roe vs Wade?

The US Supreme Court’s reversal of the 50-year-old Roe vs Wade ruling has dealt a major blow to the women, impinging their right to access abortion in the country.

Experts have warned that the order will have far-reaching and dangerous consequences for treatments like miscarriages and the entire field of reproductive medicine, and will lead to illegal clinics, making it difficult for women, especially the poor, to access the facilities.

However, there might be onepossible way for women to fight abortion restrictions—abortion pills.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Hours after the ruling, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a statement proclaiming that the Justice Department disagrees with the verdict. In addition to vowing to “work tirelessly to protect and advance reproductive freedom,” he indicated a potential avenue for the legal fight for abortion rights.

He said that states cannot ban mifepristone—a medication that is used for abortion—based on disagreement with the federal government on its safety and efficacy.

President Joe Biden has also directed the US Department of Health and Human Services “to protect women’s access to critical medications for reproductive health care” including “essential preventive health care like contraception and medication abortion.”

Is the medical abortion way out?

Medication abortion is the most common form of abortion care practised in the US. Nearly 60 per cent of all procedures are related to medical abortion, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights advocacy research group.

In a medication abortion, a patient takes a drug called mifepristone, also known as RU-486, followed by a second drug called misoprostol, to end a pregnancy rather than having a surgical procedure.

The drug wasapproved for useby the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in most cases up to 10 weeks of pregnancy in 2000. It has been deemed safe and effective.

Are abortion pills easily accessible?

Though it has been approved in 2000, the US FDA last year permanently lifted the in-person requirement for medication abortion prescriptions.

Now, patients can access the drugs via telehealth appointments and online pharmacies so that they can take the drugs at home.

This new order increased access to abortion for patients living in remote areas without providers nearby and women unable to take time off from work or not able to get to clinics for other reasons.

Can states restrict medication abortion?

Yes, they can. Medication abortions have become a target of anti-abortion politicians and activists.

Indiana bans medication abortion at 10 weeks, and Texas after seven weeks; other state medication abortion bans have been blocked by courts.

Thirty-two states allow only physicians, and not other clinicians such as nurse practitioners, to dispense abortion pills, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Nineteen states require that the dispensing clinician be in the patient’s physical presence, effectively banning telemedicine.

What is the impact of SC’s ruling on telemedicine abortion?

Before the Supreme Court’s ruling, 13 states had so-called “trigger laws” to impose new abortion bans immediately or soon after Roe v. Wade was overturned, and other states are expected to follow after Friday’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.

The Guttmacher Institute predicts at least 26 states, including those with trigger laws, will pass new abortion laws.

Such state laws have so far not distinguished between surgical and medication abortion, so they are expected to ban medication abortion entirely. Some will ban abortions almost completely, while others outlaw abortion at six weeks or 15 weeks.

Can patients get abortion pills from other countries?

Yes. Women in states cracking down on telemedicine abortion have increasingly turned to order pills online from overseas.

While the practice is not legal, state authorities have said they have no effective way of policing orders from foreign doctors and pharmacies.

Are there currently lawsuits challenging state restrictions on medication abortion?

Yes. GenBioPro Inc, a company that sells mifepristone, has already challenged Mississippi’s restrictions on prescribing abortion pills via telemedicine by arguing that they are “preempted” by the FDA, meaning that the federal approval of the drug overrides any state law. There has not been a ruling in that case, which is pending in Mississippi federal court.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE