PREVIEW

Data Suggests Threat to Abortion Access Driving Demand for Abortion Pills. NPR reports that a new study found that concerns about abortion restrictions have pushed people to order abortion pills, despite not being pregnant. Aid Access is a Europe-based organization that provides abortion pills to U.S. patients through telemedicine. The group said that requests for advance provisions of the pill have spiked in locations where patients perceive a threat to future abortion access. "Requests ... go up and they go up quite rapidly. So it seems possible that people are really responding to the threat of reduced abortion access." NPR reports that advance provision usually involves a regimen of two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, but is not a routine part of reproductive health care in the U.S. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) described mifepristone as "a very safe and effective drug". "People are worried about needing abortion care and being unable to access it in the future due to abortion bans. While some people may be able to travel to states where that care is legal, others simply cannot.", American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), via NPR. According to Abigail Aiken, a public affairs professor at the University of Texas at Austin, spikes in requests have been seen in states where lawmakers had already proposed abortion restrictions. "The biggest increases seem to be in states where there's potential legislation coming." "It seems like people are reacting to that potential threat to access with, 'Oh, I better get prepared for what might be coming.'", Abigail Aiken, Public affairs professor at the University of Texas at Austin, via NPR. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT