![]() Broadening the pool of qualified providers is in line with expert guidance. Since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, there has been increased attention on the benefits of telehealth-and abortion has very much been a part of that conversation.Īnother factor improving access has been an increase in evidence-based policies that allow non-physician medical professionals-such as physician assistants and advanced practice nurses-to provide medication abortion. While the use of medication abortion has been steadily increasing since it was first approved, the COVID-19 pandemic likely accelerated that trend. Transforming the Landscape of Abortion in the United StatesĪ number of factors have transformed the landscape around medication abortion in recent years. Subsequent research has demonstrated that direct-to-patient medication abortion provided via telemedicine-where the patient remotely consults with a provider and pills are shipped through the mail-is likewise safe and effective and works well for patients. ![]() A comprehensive review of the science related to the provision of abortion care in the United States conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine confirmed that medication abortion has a very low rate of serious complications and is effective at ending an early pregnancy.Throughout the more than 20 years that it has been used in the United States, medication abortion has been proven to be overwhelmingly safe and effective. And, in areas of the country that are rural or underserved by providers, medication abortion can save a patient hundreds of miles of travel. ![]() The latter option can be especially useful in addressing logistical burdens abortion patients often face when they have to visit a provider to obtain care, such as arranging for child care and time off work and paying for transportation costs. Pills can be provided at a clinic or delivered directly to a patient through the mail. Medication abortion can be completed outside of a medical setting-for example, in the comfort and privacy of one’s home. Patients should always have the full scope of options available to them, including in-person care with a clinician. Medication abortion differs from procedural abortion, which is provided in a clinical setting via vacuum aspiration or another method. Patients initiate a medication abortion by taking mifepristone, followed by misoprostol one or two days later, as directed by a provider or the manufacturer’s instructions. However, additional research shows provision beyond 10 weeks is safe and effective and some providers administer medication abortion "off label" after that point in pregnancy. The FDA approved that limit based on research the agency reviewed at the time. Medication Abortion Is a Safe and Effective OptionĬurrently, medication abortion is approved for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. As medication abortion has become the most common method of abortion, there is still the potential to further increase access-which is why the method has become a main target of anti-abortion politicians and activists seeking to restrict care. It also underscores how central this method has become to US abortion provision, thanks to its track record of safe and effective use for more than two decades. This new data point powerfully illustrates that medication abortion has gained broad acceptance from both abortion patients and providers. This 54% estimate is based on preliminary findings from ongoing data collection final estimates will be released in late 2022 and the proportion for medication abortion use is not expected to fall below 50%. That year is the first time medication abortion crossed the threshold to become the majority of all abortions and it is a significant jump from 39% in 2017, when Guttmacher last reported these data. Specifically, preliminary data from the Guttmacher Institute’s periodic census of all known abortion providers show that in 2020, medication abortion accounted for 54% of US abortions. Taken along with misoprostol, the two-drug combination is known as medication abortion or the "abortion pill." New research from the Guttmacher Institute shows that 20 years after its introduction, medication abortion accounted for more than half of all abortions in the United States. In 2000, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone as a method of abortion. This analysis has been updated to correct the date when the FDA allowed abortion pills to be mailed to patients for the duration of the pandemic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |