Shield Laws Keep Abortion Pill Access Steady, Research Finds

What's the story?

• New research found that since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, new "shield laws" have allowed abortion pill access to remain steady. 
• Researchers from #WeCount, a project by the Society of Family Planning, are studying the impact of abortion restrictions following the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Their newest report focuses on the effects of shield laws in Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, and Washington, which protect medical providers from legal repercussions when shipping abortion pills to patients in states facing abortion bans.
• Co-chair of #WeCount, Dr. Ushma Upadhyay, emphasized how shield laws are allowing "a huge number of people [to get] abortions in a way that didn't exist just a few years ago." Upadhyay continued:

"It's unbelievable, and it's a method of obtaining an abortion that most people in the US still don't even know is available."

The results

• The researchers found that, despite the overturn of Roe v. Wade, the number of abortions performed within the U.S. healthcare system rose, even excluding abortions offered under shield laws. 
• In 2023, medical professionals provided 86,000 abortions monthly in states that allowed the procedures. In states that have six-week or near-total abortion bans, an average of 5,800 abortions through medication occurred between October and December, thanks to shield laws. By December 2023, telehealth abortions accounted for 19% of all abortions nationwide. 

The big picture

• In March 2024, the Supreme Court heard arguments about the mifepristone case, challenging the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the medication that is used in nearly two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. 
• At the center of the case is whether the agency had the authority to expand access to the drug in 2016 and 2021 by allowing doctors to prescribe it through telemedicine and send the pill by mail. 
• The justices appeared skeptical of the arguments to limit access to the pill, which the FDA has approved for over two decades. Several justices questioned whether the plaintiffs have standing, bringing skepticism to their entitlement to sue the FDA. The justices also challenged the plaintiffs' request to apply nationwide restrictions to the drug, which would be the first time a court had second-guessed the FDA's expert judgment about drug safety. 
• The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine argues that the "FDA always envisioned that emergency room doctors…would be a crucial component of the mifepristone regimen." The group says doctors would suffer if they had to treat patients who have taken the medication. The Biden administration said the alliance failed to show "any evidence of injury from the availability" of the drug. 
• The government asserts that the drug has been "safe and effective" since 2000. The White House said the FDA has "maintained that scientific judgment across five presidential administrations, while updating the drug's approved conditions of use based on additional evidence and experience…"

Do you support increased abortion access?

-Jamie Epstein

(Photo credit: Flickr/Robin Marty)