The Biden Administration permanently lifted restrictions on receiving abortion pills by mail. Formerly, the FDA temporarily lifted-in person requirements for accessing mifepristone, the first of a two-pill process for aborting babies, due to the pandemic. The lifting of restrictions means mail order medical abortion will proliferate more than ever.
Pulse Executive Director, Maggie DeWitte, reacted:
“The mail order abortion pill program is shocking. Ru-486 is a dangerous medication that kills unborn children in the womb and harms women both physically and emotionally. The idea that girls and women across Iowa could receive this dangerous drug through the mail without ever seeing a physician in person is appalling. And, what about minor girls? Will 14 year olds be able to obtain this drug without their parents even knowing about?
Women who have taken this drug report back the enormous physical implications including an extreme loss of blood and severe cramping, many thought they would die. And, that this is done in their home, alone, often in their bathroom. The isolation these women feel is something not easily dealt with. And they are faced with the harsh reality of what they did when they see their dead baby in a toilet. Because, let’s be clear- that is the reality of medical abortion through the mail.
Mary Ziegler, a law professor at Florida State University, said:
“It’s really significant. Telehealth abortions are much easier for both providers and patients, and even in states that want to do it, there have been limits on how available it is.”
The Susan B. Anthony List echoed both DeWitte and Ziegler’s sentiments:
“The Biden administration today moved to weaken longstanding federal safety regulations against mail-order abortion drugs designed to protect women from serious health risks and potential abuse. The Biden administration policy allows for dangerous at-home, do-it-yourself abortions without necessary medical oversight.”
Young women in particular are often oblivious to just how traumatizing a chemical abortion can be. Abby Johnson had a chemical abortion when she was twenty-three. A counselor for Planned Parenthood described the effects like this:
“You will have some heavy bleeding and period like cramps. None of it should last too long. You will be back to normal in a couple days.”
Ms. Johnson described the reality of the procedure like this:
“Ten minutes later, I started to feel pain in my abdomen unlike anything I had ever experienced. Then the blood came. It was gushing out of me. I couldn’t wear a pad…nothing was able to absorb the amount of blood I was losing. The only thing I could do was sit on the toilet. I sat there for hours…bleeding, throwing up into the bathroom trashcan, crying and sweating.”
It got worse:
“After several hours on the toilet, I desperately wanted to soak in the bath tub. I was hoping that would make me feel better. Maybe the warm water would help the cramping. Certainly it would make me smell better. I had vomit all in my hair and on my legs, not to mention how sweaty I was. I filled the tub and climbed in. It actually did feel pretty good. I remember closing my eyes and leaning my head back. I felt exhausted. The cramps kept coming, but the water helped soothe them somewhat. I opened my eyes after 15 minutes and was horrified. My bathwater was bright red. It looked like I was sitting in the middle of a crime scene. And I guess it was …I had murdered my child.”
This is why Pulse’s Executive Director characterizes the Biden Administration’s decision as shocking. Not only will mail order medical abortion increase the number of abortions in the U.S., it will subject unsuspecting young women to horrific emotional and physical injury.
