Ohio Six-Week Abortion Ban Forces Some To Bulk-Buy Plan B
The Columbus Dispatch reports on how Ohioans are considering reproductive care options under the new abortion ban, with some stocking up on Plan B, and one woman describes how she's considering sterilization as an option. Also: more on Plan B, employer abortion aid, and impacts on doctors.
Columbus Dispatch:
Abortion Pills Online? Ohioans Weigh Options Following Six-Week Ban
Ohio prosecutors won't be able to charge foreign doctors, and it's unclear whether a doctor in another state could be if a patient misrepresented their residency. Attorneys general and governors in several states have already pledged not to aid in the prosecution of abortion providers or patients. Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, doesn't think Ohio could tell the U.S. Postal Service what it can and cannot ship. And when asked whether he supported efforts to block people from obtaining abortion medication by mail, Gov. Mike DeWine said, "No." (Staver, 7/4)
Columbus Dispatch:
Ohioans Stock Up On Plan B, Consider Sterilization After Roe Ruling
The day after the draft decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization was leaked in May, 36-year-old Columbus resident Kristen Porter scheduled an appointment to have her fallopian tubes removed at the end of July. "If I have a health issue with a pregnancy, I don't feel confident anymore that I am going to have the ability to take the necessary medical steps to maintain my health or my life," she said. (Laird and Lagatta, 7/1)
More on abortion pills, Plan B, and misinformation surrounding both —
The Washington Post:
People Seeking Abortions Encounter Flood Of Online Misinformation
False and misleading information about abortion is spreading online, and researchers fear it will only get worse in the wake of the Supreme Court decision on Dobbs. On TikTok, videos suggesting that people use herbs to self-manage an abortion have racked up thousands of views. Antiabortion activists have shared false information on Twitter about the supposed dangers of abortion. And the New York attorney general sent a letter to Google last week urging the company to point abortion seekers on Google Maps to valid health-care offices that offer the treatment, rather than to “crisis pregnancy centers,” which try to dissuade people from getting abortions. (Lerman, 7/4)
Politifact:
Fact Check: Does Plan B Cause Abortions?
Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, a slew of claims about reproductive health and what constitutes as an abortion have flooded the internet. Even topics that seemed like settled science — such as emergency birth control — have been thrown into the mix. (Putterman, 7/4)
The Wall Street Journal:
Little-Known Abortion Pill Maker Faces Scrutiny
The overturning of Roe v. Wade has put a spotlight on a small manufacturer of abortion pills, which are emerging as a flashpoint between advocates and opponents of the procedure. Abortion-rights advocates have for decades lobbied for more access to mifepristone, the abortion medication that Danco Laboratories LLC manufactures under the brand name Mifeprex and sells for about $50 a pill. They want the Food and Drug Administration to remove safety restrictions on the drug, make it available without a prescription or expand its label to approve it for miscarriage, for which it is also sometimes prescribed, off label. (Whyte, 7/4)
Can employers be prosecuted for helping women? —
The Washington Post:
Post-Roe, Can States Ban Employer Abortion Aid? It’s Not That Simple.
Offering abortion employment benefits carries legal risks for employers that go far beyond the usual threat of consumer boycotts of companies that take a position on a polarizing issue. Thirteen states have trigger laws criminalizing abortion immediately or within 30 days of Roe being struck down, and other states are expected to enact abortion bans soon. That means companies that offer abortion-related benefits to employees in those states could be accused of aiding and abetting criminal activity. (Miller, 6/30)
NBC News:
What Will Abortion Assistance From Your Employer Look Like? It's Complicated
Many companies, quick to announce abortion assistance policies following last month’s Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, were vague on the details. Many offered reimbursement for travel, but few laid out plans on how employees could use such a benefit and maintain their privacy. “It’s important for companies to structure this in a way where an employee has to reveal as little as possible," said Brietta R. Clark, a professor of law at Loyola Law School. (Fieldstadt, 7/2)
Doctors struggle with new reality —
Houston Chronicle:
Roe V. Wade Ruling Could Jeopardize The Quality Of OB-GYN Education In Texas, Experts Say
Dr. Paul Klotman, CEO and president of Baylor College of Medicine, acknowledged the potential disruptions in an email to faculty on Tuesday. Baylor is one of four major medical schools in the Houston area, including McGovern Medical School, the largest in Texas. (Gill, 7/3)
Stat:
Fear Of Prosecution Forces Doctors To Protect Themselves Or Patients
Last Wednesday, a patient walked into Julie Rhee’s fertility clinic in St. Louis with pelvic pain that was getting steadily worse. She had a history of ectopic pregnancies and, following months of IVF treatment, was showing all the signs of another one. A recently implanted embryo was growing inside the fragile walls of her fallopian tube, threatening to burst them open and cause internal bleeding at any moment. She needed surgery, and fast. For the first time, though, Rhee discovered her clinical judgment wasn’t enough. She would have to present her case to a hospital ethics committee. (Goldhill, 7/5)
