Several Democratic states, most notably New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Vermont and Colorado, passed laws regulating telemedicine that are allowing hundreds of women to receive abortion pills in states where the procedure is banned.
The intent is to protect doctors who send abortion pills to other states that have banned abortion. Democrats are also pushing for legislation that would not legally prosecute women who choose to travel to other places where the abortion procedures are allowed.
The main company benefiting from the legislative initiative is Aid Access, based in Europe and one of the largest suppliers of the pill. The organization offers on its official website that it will ship the pill throughout the United States.
"FDA approved abortion pills by mail from U.S based abortion providers for all 50 U.S. states. It is safe to use abortion pills at home," Aid Access claims on its website.
In addition, the company details how the consultation can be carried out remotely. The abortion pill service costs $150, and shipping takes one to five days. "Each package will contain 1 mifepristone tablet and 12 misoprostol tablets," Aid Access explains.
Mifepristone is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in a regimen with misoprostol, to terminate an intrauterine pregnancy up to ten weeks gestation.
The Washington Post spoke with doctors who are prescribing the pill and who work with Aid Access. One doctor assured that what she does is totally legal, despite the fact that the shipment is done in an almost secretive manner. In addition, the doctor acknowledged that she could be sued in states such as Texas, but insisted that she does not live there.
"Her family’s ping-pong table covered with abortion pills bound for the South and Midwest, where abortion has been largely illegal since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022." The Washington Post reported.
At least 3,500 doses have been shipped to people living in antiabortion states since mid-June, a process enabled by new shield laws. https://t.co/2Y5a0qYVdK
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 20, 2023
According to Aid Access' records, since June 18, more than 15,000 people in the U.S. requested abortion services from the organization. Of these, at least 3,500 live in states where abortion is prohibited and received drug treatment from U.S. providers living in Democratic states.
