'Substantial Demand' for Abortion Pills Ordered in Advance, Study Finds

Follow Drugslib on

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 2, 2024.

By Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Jan. 2, 2024 -- A U.S. online provider of the mifepristone/misoprostol abortion pill combo saw a ten-fold jump in orders when the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade was first leaked in 2022, a new study finds.

Such orders declined a bit in the months after the decision was officially announced, but have risen once again as women remain uncertain about access to the controversial pills.

"We observed substantial demand for advance provision of abortion medications," said a team led by Abigail Aiken, of the University of Texas at Austin.

"Requests peaked following the Dobbs leak and after conflicting legal rulings regarding FDA mifepristone approval created confusion and uncertainty," her team wrote.

They published their findings Jan. 2 in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

Aiken is associate professor of public affairs at UT Austin. Her team looked at orders placed to Aid Access, an online telemedicine service that has offered advance access to abortion pills since September 2021.

They tracked orders placed during four periods: Before the Dobbs decision was first leaked to the public on May 2, 2022; after the leak, but before the decision was formally announced on June 23, 2022; after the formal announcement (June 24, 2022 to April 6, 2023); and between conflicting judicial rulings on the availability of one of the pills, mifepristone (April 7 to April 30, 2023).

Before the Dobbs decision was leaked, Aid Access received about 25 requests per day for advance access to the abortion pills combo, Aiken's team reported.

Immediately after the leak that Roe v. Wade would be overturned, orders skyrocketed 10-fold, to 247 orders per day. By the time the decision was formally announced, orders had subsided to about 89 per day, but have since steadily risen again, to over 172 orders per day, the study found.

"States considering future abortion bans had the highest rates of requests, and requestors were motivated by a desire to preserve reproductive autonomy," Aiken's group noted.

When asked why they had ordered the pills, 74% of customers said they'd done so "to ensure personal health and choice," and 73% said they had done so "to prepare for possible abortion restrictions."

White, urban and more affluent women were most likely to order the pills in advance via telemedicine.

"A key focus for services will be ensuring affordability, visibility and access for racial and ethnic minority groups and marginalized groups,"Aiken's group noted.

Sources

  • JAMA Internal Medicine, Jan. 2, 2023

    • Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

    Source: HealthDay

    Posted : 2024-01-03 00:15

    Read more

    Disclaimer

    Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

    The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

    Popular Keywords