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niyad

(113,370 posts) Sat Jun 25, 2022, 02:00 PM Jun 2022

Abortion on Our Own Terms: 'Supreme Court Justices Can't Put Abortion Pills Back in the Bottle'

Abortion on Our Own Terms: ‘Supreme Court Justices Can’t Put Abortion Pills Back in the Bottle’
6/16/2022 by Carrie N. Baker and Anya Rozario
“What if anyone who needs to end a pregnancy could do so with safe, effective medication available without a prescription, the same way we already get other medications?” asks the Abortion on Our Own Terms Campaign. “That future is within reach.”

Abortion On Our Own Terms activists, including Erin Matson (second from right) at the March 14 Bans Off Our Bodies Protest in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy of Erin Matson)

In response to the Supreme Court’s imminent overturning of Roe v. Wade, a coalition of over 70 reproductive health, rights and justice organizations have created a new campaign, Abortion on Our Own Terms, to educate the public about the safety and effectiveness of self-managed abortion using medications.“The Abortion on Our Own Terms campaign is an amazing, affirmative, defiant campaign, which is just what this horrible moment for abortion rights and access in this country needs,” said Erin Matson, co-founder and executive director of Reproaction and a steering committee member of the Abortion on Our Own Terms coalition.
“There are a variety of methods that folks may use to self-manage abortion. We provide information on abortion pills because they are such an amazing technical advance—really a game changer,” said Matson. “These Supreme Court justices can’t put abortion pills back in the bottle.”

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Research shows that abortion pills are highly effective—with an over 95 percent success rate—and they are extremely safe. Serious adverse events occur in less than one-third of one percent of medication abortions.“Abortion pills are safe and effective. It’s absolutely inane that they’re so hard to get right now,” said Matson. “You can’t even get them from your pharmacist. You actually have to go to a provider. The complication rate is extraordinarily low—lower than Tylenol. Why can I buy Tylenol at the store, but I have to go through all these hoops to get abortion pills? It’s ridiculous.”

On their website, Abortion on Our Own Terms explains what self-managed abortion is, provides educational resources, promotes their partner organizations and gives several ways to get involved and take action. They condense key information about medication abortion and self-managed abortion into bite-sized, easily-understandable forms, including readymade stickers, GIFs, short informational videos and infographics for supporters to download and share.

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(Abortion On Our Own Terms)

One of the coalition members, Plan C, has a comprehensive, state-by-state guide to finding abortion pills, with information on U.S.-based telehealth abortion providers as well as options for people in states that restrict abortion pills. Austria-based telehealth abortion provider Aid Access serves people in all 50 states. Plan C also lists vetted online pharmacies where people can order pills directly. Another coalition member, If/When/How, runs the Repro Legal Helpline, which provides free and confidential legal advice that can help people better understand the laws and legal risk they may face in self-managing abortion. Detailed instructions for how to take abortion pills are available in 27 languages and the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline has medical professionals available for free consultations between 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. in all continental U.S. time zones to answer medical questions related to using abortion pills.

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