Today, the Supreme Court hears arguments about the abortion pill, 2 years after its conservative majority ruled to end the federal right to abortion (2022 Dobbs ruling) allowing states to enact restrictions or ban the procedure almost entirely. The abortion pill’s current FDA approved availability via telehealth, via mail, via non physician providers and its current safety profile is being challenged in the Supreme Court by anti-abortion groups who seek to limit its use, thereby making abortion access even more restricted in the USA.
Since the COVID pandemic related limitations in care availability and the Dobbs decision, there was an increase in the abortion pill use. It has become the preferred method for terminating a pregnancy in over 60 percent of the women seeking abortions. Safety data on its use made it a clinically sound alternative to surgery.
Currently, the abortion pill has been given expanded FDA approval to be used up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. It can be offered by clinics and pharmacies without a doctor’s visit and without an ultrasound to confirm the pregnancy dating or location. It can be mailed to patients living in states where abortion is illegal by providers in sanctuary states where abortion is legal. Such widespread use with patient autonomy and limited clinical input has increased concerns about its safety. Abortion opponents have claimed that the FDA expansion of the use of abortion pills is unsupported and asks the Supreme Court to scale the abortion pill back to its original approval protocols.
Yet, there are multiple studies showing safety and effectiveness including a current one published in Nature Medicine, on February 2024 Read more , which showed the following.
“Among 6,034 abortions, 97.7% were complete without subsequent known intervention or ongoing pregnancy after the initial treatment. Overall, 99.8% (99.6–99.9%) of abortions were not followed by serious adverse events. In total, 0.25% of patients experienced a serious abortion-related adverse event, 0.16% were treated for an ectopic pregnancy and 1.3% abortions were followed by emergency department visits. There were no differences in effectiveness or safety between synchronous and asynchronous models of care. Telehealth medication abortion is effective, safe and comparable to published rates of in-person medication abortion care.”
In our office, at A-All Women Care, we provide in-office abortion care for patients up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. We offer both abortion pill and surgical abortion services to patients needing care. We offer appointments within 24 hours. We provide ultrasounds and consultation under the care of a Harvard trained physician.
No matter what the Supreme Court decision will be, the abortion pill and surgical abortion will still be available in our office.