New research indicates that in the United States, thousands of women have been stockpiling abortion pills in recent years amid reports suggesting that finding abortion pills may become more challenging.
In a research study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA Internal Medicine), the demand for abortion medications among women who are not pregnant but purchased drugs from the European telemedicine service site Aid Access was examined.
According to the research, Aid Access, operating in Europe, received 48,400 orders for abortion medications from the United States between September 2021 and April 2023. The peak in demand for orders occurred in May 2022, following leaked news that the U.S. Supreme Court would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in America, and increased before an official announcement was made in June.
Nationwide in the United States, the demand for abortion medication increased approximately tenfold after the news of a potential ban on abortion. The daily demand for the medication rose from 25 in the previous eight months to 247 afterward. In states where the inevitability of abortion bans was looming, the weekly demand for the medication increased ninefold.
Inequalities in Access
Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, the Director of Aid Access, linked the increased demand for abortion medication to a heightened public awareness during times of uncertainty.
Experts have also pointed out disparities in access to abortion medication. It has been found that the majority of women who proactively prepare for their abortion needs, as opposed to those seeking medication to address current abortion needs, are over 30 years old, white, childless, urban residents, and living in regions with lower levels of poverty.
Dr. Daniel Grossman, an obstetrician-gynecologist from the University of California, notes that women facing the greatest obstacles in accessing abortion have not yet obtained the opportunity for prior access to these medications.
Dr. Grossman says, “It’s not surprising that some individuals, instead of traveling to another state for an abortion or obtaining pills through telemedicine after becoming pregnant, would want to have these medications on hand, just in case.”
Source: VOA