‘Self-managed’ abortions soared after Roe struck down: Study

(NewsNation) — The number of “self-managed” abortions using pills obtained outside of formal health systems soared in the six months following the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a new study found. 

The study published in the medical journal JAMA found that there was an increase of more than 27,000 self-managed abortions outside of the health care system from July to December 2022 after the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to an abortion in June of that year. 

Before Roe was overturned, providers were prescribing abortion pills to about 1,400 women per month, but in the six months afterward, the average jumped to 5,900 per month, the study reported. 

The study also found the number of abortions obtained within formal health care systems declined by approximately 32,000 during that same time period.  

Self-management involves the use of abortion medications including mifepristone and misoprostol, but the study also included the use of herbs, botanicals, and self-harm. 

Data was gathered using telemedicine organizations, community networks and online vendors that were providing abortion medications. 

The report’s authors also say the numbers are likely underrepresenting the total number of abortions outside of formal health systems due to restrictive laws and criminal penalties surrounding abortions. 

“We see what we see elsewhere in the world in the U.S. — that when anti-abortion laws go into effect, oftentimes outside of the formal health care setting is where people look, and the locus of care gets shifted,” said Dr. Abigail Aiken, who is an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin and the lead author of the JAMA study told The New York Times. 

The data comes on the eve of a highly consequential case slated to go before the Supreme Court Tuesday that could impact how women get access to mifepristone. 

The central dispute in the case is whether the Food and Drug Administration overlooked serious safety problems when it made mifepristone easier to obtain, including through mail-order pharmacies.

The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancies. Over the years, the FDA reaffirmed mifepristone’s safety and repeatedly eased restrictions, culminating in a 2021 decision doing away with any in-person requirements and allowing the pill to be sent through the mail.

By rolling back Food and Drug Administration changes to the use of mifepristone, the ruling would cut off access to the drug through the mail and impose other restrictions, even in states where abortion remains legal.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.