Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Dobbs Decision Drove Two Big Spikes In Medication Abortion Requests
Axios: Study: Requests For Mail-Order Abortion Pills Surged After Roe Reversal
Requests for self-managed abortions via pills increased in 30 states following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, with the largest surges seen in states with total or near-total bans on abortion, according to a new study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Chen, 11/1)
Stat: Online Requests For Medication Abortions Spiked After The Dobbs Decision
Before the Dobbs decision leaked, Aid Access got about 83 requests each day on average, and that rate jumped to 214 requests a day after the Supreme Court issued its decision. About one-third of women in states with total abortion bans cited “current abortion restrictions” as their reason for requesting abortion pills before the leak. After, nearly two-thirds said state restrictions were why they’d reached out. The researchers saw a similar shift in states with six-week bans. (Williamson-Lee, 11/1)
Houston Chronicle: Texas Mail-Order Abortion Requests Nearly Doubled After Bans
Texas saw the sixth highest jump in weekly requests among states reviewed, according to the study, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The state is among a handful that now prohibit abortions in almost all cases, following the court's decision to roll back federal abortion protections. (Blackman, 11/1)
Politico: State Abortion Bans Prove Easy To Evade
Abigail Aiken, associate professor at the University of Texas School of Public Policy, who wrote the research letter, said that the findings are consistent with her past work, which showed that abortion restrictions lead people to figure out how to get abortions despite the legal risks. “Those who self-manage may have more financial hardship or live in rural areas,” said Aiken. (Reader, 11/1)
In related news about abortion pills —
KUNC: How One Unmarked Van Is Quietly Delivering Abortion Pills On Colorado’s Border
As abortion becomes more restricted across the country, a non-descript mobile clinic is operating on Colorado’s border, where women from out-of-state can go to pick up medications themselves. (Paterson, 11/1)
