Celine Castronuovo’s Post

Medication abortions made up 53% of abortions in 2020, 39% in 2017 and only 6% in 2001. That trend has drawn more attention to medication abortions from anti-abortion activists. Access to abortion pills has opened up abortion access to many patients, even where abortion has been outlawed. But some legal experts believe the Supreme Court looks poised to hand down a decision later this year that would severely hinder that access. This decision could also drive more women to Wichita from Texas and Oklahoma, where abortion is outlawed. All three abortion clinics in the city have seen a surge in out-of-state patients. Trust Women, Wichita’s largest abortion provider, saw just over 5,000 patients last year, the highest number in the clinic’s history and more than triple what it saw in 2021. https://buff.ly/4ax7hyP #wichita #wichitanews #wichitabeacon #thebeaconnews

Great insight and informative (and scary).

Excellent article covering our debt to the Global South regarding SMA and misoprostol-only medication abortion and our need to embrace a human rights perspective informed by intersectionality and a reproductive justice framework. 👏🏼

TODAY: Florida’s Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in a challenge to the state's 15-week abortion ban. If the Court upholds the ban, a 6-week ban will go into effect after 30 days. 📢 This case will determine the future of abortion access in Florida and the whole region. It’s hard to overstate how devastating a 6-week ban would be: 6 weeks is before many people even know they’re pregnant. Even for those who do know, that leaves at most 14 days to get an appointment, come up with $$ and transportation, etc. 🚨 Traveling out of state has already become increasingly difficult, with more bans clustering in the Southeast region. With a 6-week ban in place, Floridians and people across the South will need to travel even further to access essential care. People who can’t travel are forced to self-manage their abortions and take on the legal risks or carry an unwanted pregnancy to term. For Black and Brown people, these alternatives are riskier because of systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system and health care. We’ll be watching this case closely and will share more as updates become available.

In May 2023, abortion clinic Safe Access Zones were officially signed into law in England and Wales - yet despite the support of Parliamentarians across all major parties in both Houses, and 77% of the British public, Safe Access Zones are still not up and running. Now, the government has launched a public consultation on how this legislation should be implemented. While we’re pleased that the government is finally bringing this critical legislation into force, the current draft of the guidance includes many fundamental misunderstandings about the nature of anti-abortion harassment and the purpose of Safe Access Zones (read our blog below to learn more about the proposed guidance and our views on it). This consultation is your chance to share your experiences and views about abortion clinic harassment with the government, and help to ensure that Safe Access Zones are fully implemented to protect people accessing and providing abortion care. Click on the link below to learn more and find our guide to responding to the consultation by 22nd January 2024. https://lnkd.in/gEETqxYm #AbortionRights #ReproductiveRights #ReproductiveJustice #SafeAccessZones

“I’m concerned that people don’t realize how important telehealth is—it’s a major pillar in the abortion care landscape,” said professor Ushma Upadhyay, PhD, MPH of UC San Francisco, a reproductive health care expert, in a recent Los Angeles Times article. “People don’t understand how important it could become in the future.” We know that medication abortion care via telemedicine is life changing. And studies have confirmed that virtual care is not only safe and effective, but just as safe and effective as medication abortion care at in-person clinics. As the leading virtual abortion provider in the US, we will continue to provide evidence-based, compassionate telemedicine abortion care to our patients—both while we await the Supreme Court’s decision on the mifepristone case, and beyond. Read more about the importance of telemedicine abortion care (including what it meant to a Hey Jane patient to be able to receive care virtually, without having to travel to a clinic) from the LA Times here: https://lnkd.in/gJGXGXdf #abortionishealthcare #mifepristone #scotus #healthcareinnovation

The Society of Family Planning released its fifth #WeCount report this week, showing that in the 15 months following the Dobbs decision the number of abortions in the United States remains consistently elevated compared to pre-Dobbs levels, even as in-person abortion care has been dismantled in the states that ban abortion. The states with the largest cumulative increase in abortion volume over 15 months included Illinois, Florida, and California— which all border states with strict abortion bans. The report also highlights that abortions provided via telehealth now make up 16% of all abortion care nationwide. https://lnkd.in/gMZKsQfQ

5 things we don’t know about abortion in the US (but could with better reporting):  How many abortions? How many women harmed by abortion? How many late term abortions? How many mail order abortions? How many babies born alive? According to this article put out by the Charlotte Lozier Institute, Oklahoma and Minnesota were ranked one and two in the country, respectively, for the quality and timeliness of their state abortion reporting, but there is still so much across the country that goes unreported. https://lnkd.in/gqSn4kzC

The Florida abortion ban has not yet taken effect, but when it does it will be devastating. Shuttered Florida clinics and increased demand could create a backlog that stretches across several U.S. states. And as more people need to travel for their abortion care, we’ll also see clinics scheduling appointments well into the future to meet the demand. So this means people seeking abortions may be forced to delay their procedures and carry their pregnancies further into term, which can mean risking their health. Abortion bans are cruel and The Brigid Alliance is ready to double down our efforts to help Floridians and abortion seekers across the U.S. travel to access their abortion care and back home safely. We continue to fight to make abortion borderless, burden-free and accessible to all. https://lnkd.in/ewsSg68u

Following the Supreme Court‘s pivotal decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, the right to abortion has become uncertain, placing access in constant jeopardy. Thankfully on Thursday, the Supreme Court declined to restrict access to mifepristone, dismissing a challenge from anti-abortion doctors and upholding abortion rights in the process. While the importance of medication abortion in upholding abortion access is clear, there remains a lack of understanding regarding its effects beyond abortion-related outcomes, specifically for women in midlife. Read my latest below! #abortion #mifepristone #midlife #womenshealth #reproductivehealth