Massive spike in demand for abortion pills as some women say they are 'stockpiling' after bombshell Roe v. Wade SCOTUS ruling
- Women have been stockpiling abortion pills following Supreme Court ruling
- Parents say they are buying the emergency pills in case their children need them
- Clinics are reporting a huge increase in booking appointments after ruling
Women and parents have been stockpiling options over fears that access to family planning resources could be tightened.
Some clinics have reported a fourfold increase in appointments, with nonprofit organization Just the Pill handling 100 requests in the hours after the decision.
Katie Thomas, 42, said she purchased pills for her 16-year-old daughter after learning that abortion would become illegal in the state.
She told The New York Times: 'Just the thought of something happening to my daughter, whether by force or by her choice, and there's an unwanted pregnancy, I want to be able to handle that.
'If I need to handle that on my own, then I will.'
She said she had already been stocking up on the emergency contraceptive Plan B in case her son, 21, and his girlfriend would ever need it, and she bought more on Friday.
Lauren Frazier, a spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Southeast in Atlanta, said calls have increased about concerned women wanting to know how many pills they can stockpile.
Other abortion and healthcare providers are warning women not to completely clear the shelves to allow others who need pills now to obtain them.
Hey Jane, a start-up providing telemedicine abortions across six states, said website traffic soared 1,000 per cent on Friday and patient demand doubled after the court decision.
It is expected that abortion pills will become the focus of many legal battles in the states to outlaw abortion.
So far, 13 states have already imposed new laws, with Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Missouri completely banning them with no exceptions for rape or incest.
In a statement on its website, Just The Pill said it is 'undaunted by the Supreme Court decision and will continue to bring care to the people who most need it. We are here for you.
'You can still get care from us in Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. Let us know if you need help with travel arrangements and costs.'
Medical abortion is still authorized by the Food and Drug Administration for the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
It requires a woman takes two drugs 24 to 48 hours apart to cause contractions similar to a miscarriage which expels the fetus, causing heavy bleeding.
Medication is less expensive and invasive and the pills can be mailed to your home, meaning it is a common choice for women choosing to carry out an abortion.
- Experts say it will be difficult to police the sending and receiving of the medication through mail, or traveling to a different state for a consultation.
Dozens of arrests and some instances of vandalism were reported during a weekend of mostly peaceful protests that turned disorderly in places.
Defending the ban now in effect in South Dakota, which makes no exception for victims of rape or incest, Republican Governor Kristi Noem called the Supreme Court's ruling 'wonderful news in the defense of life.'
Speaking on ABC's 'This Week,' Noem also voiced support for legislation banning telemedicine abortions.
Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas likewise argued that 'forcing someone to carry a child to term' in order to save an unborn baby was an 'appropriate' use of government power.
States should now focus on helping mothers and newborns by expanding services including adoption, Hutchinson said on NBC's 'Meet the Press.'
But the Republican also opposed calls to go further with a federal abortion ban - an ultimate goal of many on the religious right - or restrictions on contraception, which he said is 'not going to be touched' in Arkansas.
Fears that the Supreme Court's strong conservative majority - made possible by Donald Trump - will now seek to target other rights like same-sex marriage and contraception have fueled the nationwide mobilization since Friday.
President Joe Biden has condemned the Supreme Court's ruling as a 'tragic error' - but with power now resting with often anti-abortion state legislatures, he has also acknowledged his hands are largely tied.
The president's main hope is for voters to turn out in defense of abortion rights in November's midterm elections - and in the meantime, Biden's Democrats have vowed to defend women's reproductive rights every way they can.
In Wisconsin, where an 1849 law banning abortion except to save the life of the mother may go into effect, Democratic Governor Tony Evers vowed to offer clemency to any doctors who face prosecution, according to local media.
Michigan's Governor Gretchen Whitmer promised to 'fight like hell,' saying a temporary injunction has been filed to keep abortion legal in her state.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned nightmare scenarios may soon come true - as women are forced to continue with unwanted pregnancies, travel long distances to states where abortion remains legal, or undergo clandestine abortions.
'Forcing women to carry pregnancies against their will will kill them. It will kill them,' the progressive lawmaker told NBC, urging Biden to explore opening health care clinics on federal lands in conservative states in order to help people access abortion services.
A CBS poll released Sunday showed that a solid majority - 59 percent - of Americans and 67 percent of women disapproved of the court's ruling.
While thousands of people rallied peacefully through the weekend - most of them in protest, but many others celebrating - there were isolated incidents of violence. Police fired tear gas on protesters in Arizona and a pickup truck drove through a group of protesters in Iowa.
In the Virginia city of Lynchburg, police were investigating a case of vandalism Saturday at an anti-abortion pregnancy center - which was spray-painted with graffiti and had its windows smashed.
And in Colorado, police were probing a suspected arson attack Saturday at a similar anti-abortion center in the town of Longmont, which was painted with graffiti reading: 'If abortions aren't safe, neither are you.'
Source:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-pills-women-stockpile-Roe-v-Wade-ruling.html
