Telehealth Scripts Contribute To Continued Rise In Abortion Numbers
A recent report finds that 2024 saw a rise in abortion numbers across the country despite restrictions and outright bans in multiple states. Telehealth-prescribed pills account for a quarter of all abortions. Also, NBC reports on a crisis pregnancy center support group that has advised its members to avoid giving ultrasounds to women suspected of having ectopic pregnancies.
AP:
Abortion Numbers Rose In 2024 Because Of More Telehealth Prescriptions, Report Finds
The number of abortions in the U.S. rose again in 2024, with women continuing to find ways to get them despite bans and restrictions in many states, according to a report out Monday. The latest report from the WeCount project of the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion access, was released a day before the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended nearly 50 years of legal abortion nationally for most of pregnancy. (Mulvihill, 6/23)
NBC News:
Crisis Pregnancy Centers Told To Avoid Ultrasounds For Suspected Ectopic Pregnancies
One of the largest crisis pregnancy center support groups in the United States is telling its member clinics to avoid performing prenatal ultrasounds on women who they suspect have ectopic pregnancies, according to recordings obtained by NBC News of a recent presentation by a legal group that advises the faith-based nonprofits. The guidance comes in the wake of a lawsuit against a Massachusetts center that misdiagnosed an ectopic pregnancy. (Brooks, 6/23)
The 19th:
States Move To Keep Doctors’ Names Off Of Abortion Pill Prescription Labels
Out-of-state doctors are pushing for laws that will make it harder to detect who prescribes and sends abortion medication, as anti-abortion lawmakers look for ways to stop the flow of pills to their states. (Luthra, 6/23)
Wyoming Public Radio:
Wyoming’s Off-Label Use Of Medication Law Challenged In Court
A retired Laramie County district judge heard arguments on June 23 to temporarily block part of a new state law that would exclude the use of abortion pills, among others, for off-label uses. (Clements, 6/23)
The 19th:
The Future Of Federal Abortion Data Collection Is Unclear
A government watchdog says it’s unclear when — or even whether — we’ll know going forward how the end of national abortion protections impact Americans’ health outcomes, livelihoods and financial futures as the federal government turns away from abortion data collection indefinitely. (Carrazana, 6/23)
More reproductive health care news —
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Mercy St. Louis Program Helps Find New Uses For Birth Tissue
New moms can donate their placentas under a Mercy Health initiative called Beginnings and Blessings. The program, which rolled out a year ago and has since expanded to six Mercy hospitals across the state, is the first step in the processing, manufacturing and distribution of donated birth tissue. (Schrappen, 6/23)
The Baltimore Sun:
AI Is Influencing Women’s Health In New Ways, From Fertility To Menopause
AI is making its way into women’s health in unusual ways, from a sanitary napkin that can predict ovarian cancer to an algorithm trained to detect patterns of endometriosis years before traditional diagnostic methods. In Miami, women’s health leaders say this is a new era of AI, enabling earlier diagnoses, more personalized treatments, and long-overdue attention to female medical conditions that have historically been misunderstood. (Goodman, 6/23)
KFF Health News:
Push To Move OB-GYN Exam Out Of Texas Is Piece Of AGs’ Broader Reproductive Rights Campaign
Democratic state attorneys general led by those from California, New York, and Massachusetts are pressuring medical professional groups to defend reproductive rights, including medication abortion, emergency abortions, and travel between states for health care in response to recent increases in the number of abortion bans. The American Medical Association adopted a formal position June 9 recommending that medical certification exams be moved out of states with restrictive abortion policies or made virtual, after 20 attorneys general petitioned to protect physicians who fear legal repercussions because of their work. (Sciacca, 6/24)
In related news about mifepristone —
MedPage Today:
Mifepristone Helped Control Diabetes In Those With Hypercortisolism
Mifepristone (Korlym) reduced HbA1c levels in patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes and hypercortisolism, a randomized placebo-controlled trial showed. Among 136 patients, the least squares mean change in HbA1c was -1.47% with mifepristone versus -0.15% with placebo at 24 weeks (P<0.001), reported John Buse, MD, PhD, of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, at the American Diabetes Association (ADA) annual meeting. (Monaco, 6/23)
