Good News for Abortion Seekers in the US

In spite of...most things, there have been some important developments in reproductive rights recently. Here are two in particular to know about.

On October 8th, the US Supreme Court refused to reinstate a policy requiring people seeking abortions to pick up abortion pills in person. The policy was initially blocked because it necessitated an ultimately pointless trip to a medical facility during COVID-19. While under normal circumstances, someone who's decided to get an abortion via pills has to pick up mifepristone, the first element if you're taking the mifepristone/misoprostol combination, in person. Pandemic or not, there's no reason why anyone should have to pick up abortion pill in person, or why they should have to take the pills in front of another human - it's medically unecessary,  it only adds to a sense of shame and stigma already placed onto abortion pills and those who take them, and it's a burden for those who have to travel to the clinic, for financial reasons (childcare, missed work, gas money), as well as safety (ie. it's dangerous for you to tell your parents and/or your partner about the abortion). It is safe to take the pills at home, without intervention from a health care provider, whether or not there's a global pandemic.

On October 15th, a federal court struck down a Tennessee law requiring a 48 hour waiting period before one can obtain abortion care. With the law in tact, people seeking abortion would have to take days off of work, rent a hotel room, pay for transportation, day care, and other expenses in order to get to the clinic. The most common abortion procedure, a vacuum aspiration, takes between 5-10 minutes to complete, but with the existence of the waiting period, a straight forward procedure was needlessly augmented, Its disappearance frees up some of the energy and money of Tennessee's abortion funds, and reopens the door to abortion services to an entire state.

If you have questions about abortion pills - how they work, how to get them, if they might be right for you, and more, visit our FAQs.