Sales Of Mail-Order Abortion Pills From India Surge
According to the FDA website, “in most circumstances, it is illegal for individuals to import drugs into the United States for personal use,” though there are loopholes, such as when the drug isn’t considered risky and the buyer isn’t selling it to others, Bloomberg reported. Furthermore, the Biden administration has pledged to protect access to mail-order abortion pills.
Bloomberg:
Roe V. Wade: US Women Turn To Cheap Abortion Pills From India
Angry over the US Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June, Deborah Willoughby wanted to do more than attend a rally or make a donation. So she sat down at her computer and placed an order for a pack of abortion pills from India sold under the brand name Unwanted. (Einhorn and Pandya, 11/3)
ABC News:
Women Turn To At-Home Abortions, As Unregulated Pill Sites Expand Operations
Stepping in to fill that demand are online pill brokers that are buying generic versions of the drugs in bulk from pharmacies in India, Russia, Mexico and Vietnam. The drugs are then shipped illegally to U.S. consumers at a significant markup — 10 times the original cost or higher — but still a fraction of the $400 to $500 price tag charged by many abortion clinics, advocates say. (Flaherty, 11/4)
In other news about abortion —
NPR:
Indiana Doctor Sues AG To Block Him From Obtaining Patient Abortion Records
An Indiana abortion provider who came under attack by the state attorney general has filed a lawsuit to block him from subpoenaing her patients’ medical records – including those of a 10-year-old rape victim she treated. (McCammon, 11/3)
AP:
Abortion Clinic That Opened Days After Roe Fell Is Inundated
This clinic and other Planned Parenthood centers in Kansas have been doing their best to help by lengthening hours, hiring staff and flying in physicians. Still, they have only been able to take about 10% to 15% of the patients seeking abortions. “The ecosystem, it’s not even fragile. It’s broken,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “I think there’s a perception that if you are seeking care, you can find it somewhere. And that’s not true.” (Hollingsworth, 11/4)
NBC News:
A Michigan Judge Tried To Block An Abortion Rights Measure. His Ex-Wife Says He Helped Her Get An Abortion In College
When Brian Zahra learned that he had impregnated his 20-year-old girlfriend in May 1983, he grabbed the Yellow Pages, found an abortion clinic in the Detroit suburbs and made an appointment, the woman told NBC News in an interview last month. (Allen, 11/3)
In election news —
USA Today:
Abortion Misinformation Targets Latinas After Roe, Amid Midterms
“These anti-abortion campaigns … are purposefully manipulating very vulnerable communities, those who are already disproportionately marginalized from accessing any form of health care,” said Aurea Bolaños Perea, strategic communications director at COLOR. (Rodriguez, 11/4)
The 19th:
Groups Work To Get Doctors, Nurses To Vote In Wake Of COVID-19 And Dobbs
Four days after the Supreme Court issued its decision that ended a federal right to an abortion, Kimberly Fleary took to TikTok to share what happened in the 12-hour shift she’d just finished. She’s a forensic nurse in San Antonio who specializes in working with victims of sexual violence. (Gilyard, 11/3)
CBS News:
Lisa Murkowski Believes There Is A Path To Codifying Abortion Protections
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Thursday there is still a “long ways to go” to finding a bipartisan agreement on codifying abortion rights previously protected under Roe v. Wade. She added that she is “not in the camp that says it cannot be done.” (Yilek, 11/3)
KHN:
For Republican Candidates, Talk About Moms And Babies Is A Thorny Issue
A month before Election Day, as Republicans in Congress dodged questions about a proposal to ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tweeted that he wanted to talk about moms and babies. Grassley, in the midst of what may be his closest race since becoming a senator in 1980, said he hears a lot about a lack of prenatal care in rural Iowa. He introduced his answer, called the Healthy Moms and Babies Act. “This bill will help fill those voids in rural America to make sure that we can deliver health care for high-risk pregnancies,” he said. (Huetteman, 11/4)
Also —
Chicago Tribune:
Mobile Vasectomy Clinic Offers Free Procedures In The Midwest
A few days a month, Dr. Esgar Guarín hits the road in his mobile vasectomy clinic, crisscrossing the Iowa heartland to reach patients throughout the state, sometimes traveling hundreds of miles from his Des Moines-area office. (Lourgos, 11/4)
Stat:
How Doulas Could Help Prevent The Harm During Childbirth
When Tamiya Griffin was expecting her first child in 2014, she had what she thought was a straightforward plan: deliver at the hospital down the road, the same place her mother gave birth to her. But when Griffin, then a 22-year-old senior in college, went into labor a few weeks early, she had to undergo an emergency C-section. (Montague, 11/4)
