Aiken’s analysis of requests for abortion medication to be sent to Aid Access, a non-profit organization that sells abortion drugs in the US
An analysis was done on requests for abortion medication to be sent to Aid Access, a nonprofit in Austria that sells abortion drugs in the US.
In addition to the timing of requests, Aiken analyzed the locations of patients who sought advance provision. She saw spikes in requests from states where abortion restrictions were being proposed by lawmakers.
“Requests … go up and they go up quite rapidly,” she says. It seems possible that people are angry about the danger of reduced abortion access.
A lawsuit challenging access to Mifepristone was in progress in the spring of 2023, and there was a similar increase. The case is expected to be argued before the Supreme Court next year.
In response to a request for comment on Aiken’s analysis, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) described mifepristone as “a very safe and effective drug,” and said the data suggest that “people are worried about needing abortion care and being unable to access it in the future due to abortion bans. Some people can travel to states where that care is legal, but others can’t.
ACOG added that federal health regulations limiting how mifepristone can be prescribed “unfortunately … leave patients unable to access mifepristone and clinicians unable to prescribe it in advance.”
Nonetheless, Aid Access founder Dr. Rebecca Gomperts said in an email to NPR that some U.S.-based physicians living in states that have enacted protections for providers known as “shield laws” are prescribing the pills in advance. Gomperts said the medication has a shelf life of “at least two years as long as the blister pack is kept sealed, and is not exposed to heat, light, or moisture.”
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She says that the largest increases seem to be in states with potential legislation. People are reacting to the potential threat of access by saying, “Oh, I better get prepared for what might be coming.” “
“We know that people struggle to afford, say, $100 even for abortion care they currently need,” she says. Financial barriers might loom large for people and it could be a different financial reality.