Abortion pills in question now that Roe v Wade was overturned

Reporter: Gail Levy Writer: Jasmine Singletary
Published: Updated:
Abortion pills
(CREDIT: WINK News)

Abortion pills available for women within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy are in question after Roe v Wade was overturned.

There are two pills available and each of them provides a purpose to help a woman pass an unwanted pregnancy.

Doctors say they’ve been proven safe for 20 years but that’s not enough proof for everyone.

One question is will the abortion pill remain legal?

John Stemberger, president and General Counsel of the Florida Family policy council with a chemical abortion said “you’re basically delivering a dead baby in your toilet.”

Stemberger hopes Florida lawmakers will ban all abortion drugs.

“If they can’t be banned totally, then there’s going to be certainly the highest requirements for safety,” Stemberger said.

Federal regulators said abortion pills can be safely performed at home.

Stephanie Fraim, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Central and Southwest Florida said, “we call it a medication abortion, right. And it’s a two-pill regime. The same processes when a body has a miscarriage, the pill just induces it.”

Fraim said medication abortion has been safely used for the past 20 years.

“We know firsthand what it’s like, right, we’ve held the hands of the patients who come to us for care,” Fraim said.

The pills are taken over a 48-hour period. The first pill Mifepristone is taken to terminate the pregnancy. Then the second helps the body expel it.

“You do an ultrasound and then next day you come back to your appointment and we give you still take the pill and go over all the information you need to take the second pill and manage your health care for the next couple of days,” Fraim said.

This must be done during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

The CDC says nearly half of all abortions in Florida last year were performed this way.

But Florida law currently requires all pill users to meet with a doctor at least 24 hours before taking the first pill.

“Taking an abortion pill for an ectopic pregnancy could produce a death, at a very minimum, an automatic visit to the emergency room. So there’s a lot of nuances to chemical abortions that are being ignored,” Stemberger said.

Is there a possibility that the state could change the rules surrounding Plan B and the Morning After Pill?

The Supreme Court made it clear its ruling does not impact the availability of contraceptives.

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