Abortion pills, the boom of US companies (and beyond)
Among the consequences of the annulment of the Roe judgment v. Wade in the United States is also growing in demand for abortion pills. Facts, numbers and companies
Since the Supreme Court decided to overturn the Roe v. Wade, who guaranteed the right to abortion in the United States, the demand for abortion pills is on the rise.
Meanwhile, to try to limit the damage and consequences of a choice that sets America back 50 years, on July 7, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to guarantee the right to terminate a pregnancy , also focusing on the protection of the access to abortion pills.
Only last December the government had permanently removed the restrictions on access to the drug and gave the OK to the decision of the Food and Drug Administration (Fda) to send the drug directly by mail, showing the doctor's request, without need to go to the pharmacy or even make a trip to reach another state.
THE NUMBERS OF ABORTIVE PILLS IN THE STATES
According to data cited by Axios of the Guttmacher Institute , a research organization that supports the right to abortion, more than half of abortions in the United States (54%) in 2020 were drug-induced, up from 39% in 2017. A trend, consistent over time, which suggested that the use of abortion pills would also increase in the years to come.
Forecast confirmed by some companies in the sector that are witnessing a boom in requests.
HEY JANE
Hey Jane , a US telemedicine startup specializing in abortion pills, told Axios that in the days following the overturning of the Roe ruling, traffic to its site "grew almost 10 times and patient demand more than doubled" compared to in May.
“At Hey Jane, we are more than ready to accommodate this increased demand and have been preparing for this for months,” said CEO Kiki Freedman.
CHOIX
Choix , a virtual clinic that provides abortion pills, also "saw a 600% increase in website traffic the day Roe fell," as confirmed by CEO Cindy Adam. The company currently operates in four states, but plans to expand by the end of 2023 to all states where abortion is permitted.
"We continue to see higher than normal web traffic growth … and expect an increasing number of patient inquiries as we expand and telemedicine information becomes more readily available, especially regarding abortion and treatment. reproductive, ”added Adam.
JUST THE PILL
Just the Pill , a nonprofit that provides abortion pills in four states, said it was "ready" to face the challenges that could arise from the fall of the Roe ruling.
The non-profit organization, according to reports from the doctor and director Julie Amaon, is already receiving "about 25 requests for an appointment a day compared to 16 before Roe's disappearance". In addition, in anticipation of an increase in demand, the organization has implemented a new program of mobile clinics that will operate at state borders to reduce travel times for patients from states that restrict access.
OUTSIDE THE BORDERS
All these US companies, however, have to comply with state laws and therefore usually only manage to work where there are no restrictions. Here then are also intervening those who are abroad and can evade the US authorities.
As Axios states, Aid Access, for example, which sends pills from a pharmacy in India, can also ship them to people living in Republican states. Its founder Rebecca Gomperts told NBC News that after the court ruling, "the site received 4,000 requests a day, up from 600-700 before the sentencing."
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/pillole-abortive-il-boom-delle-aziende-usa-e-non-solo/ on Tue, 19 Jul 2022 10:33:57 +0000.