Teenagers and young adults are obtaining abortion pills through telehealth at high rates, a recent report found.
The report, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum, looked at telehealth abortion requests for an online provider across three age groups (ages 15–17, 18–24, and 25–49). The report found that young adults (ages 18–24) order abortion medication at much higher rates than older adults and that more teenagers order abortion pills in states with parental notification or consent laws around abortion.
The study found a “growing demand among adolescents and young adults in legally constrained environments.”
“Young people appear to increasingly rely on online telemedicine services for abortion care, with compounding legal restrictions driving higher demand,” the report read.
Michael New, senior associate scholar at Charlotte Lozier Institute and assistant professor at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that the report shows how abortion pills “undermine abortion bans and heartbeat laws” and “pro-life parental involvement laws that are in effect in over 30 states.”
For minor girls ages 15–17 requesting abortion pills, New pointed out that “the largest increase was seen in states that had both parental consent laws and parental notice laws.”
“Overall online requests for chemical abortion pills increased after the Dobbs decision,” New noted. “However, states that had some sort of parental involvement law had considerably larger increases than states with no parental involvement law.”
This can put women at risk, he said.
“There are serious public health concerns with giving minor girls access to chemical abortions by telehealth,” New said. “Minor girls who are seeking abortions via telehealth are often doing so to conceal their pregnancy or their sexual activity from their parents. As such, they might be less likely to seek medical attention if complications occur. This increases the health risks involved with obtaining an abortion.”
Multiple studies indicate high rates of hospitalizations for women taking the abortion pills. Chemical abortion has a complication rate four times that of surgical abortion, according to one study. Another report found that abortion pill complications are often underreported or misclassified.
“Overall, research has shown that chemical abortions pills taken under in-person medical supervision have a much higher complication rate than surgical abortions,” New said. “The fact that minor girls are obtaining chemical abortion pills online without in-person medical supervision only increases those risks.”
Tennessee telehealth abortion liability bill heads to governor
A Tennessee bill that would allow civil action against out-of-state abortion drug suppliers is heading to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk.
The bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Gino Bulso of Brentwood, would make abortion pill suppliers liable in wrongful-death lawsuits. It would allow family members of an unborn baby, including the biological mother, to sue the abortion pill provider, allowing for statutory damages of at least $1 million for a wrongful-death lawsuit. It would also make it a Class E felony to knowingly mail abortion-inducing drugs to someone in Tennessee.
Though the state already has strong legal protections for unborn children, Bulso said that “mail-order abortions continue to kill thousands of innocent unborn children every year.” Bulso called the bill “a critical step in our efforts to promote life, protect women, and ensure morality defines our laws.”
Kansas lawmakers override governor’s veto of pregnancy center protections
Hours after Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a bill to protect conscience rights for pregnancy centers, the state House and Senate voted to override the veto.
Based on model legislation, the CARE Act is designed to ensure that pregnancy centers are not targeted for their life-affirming beliefs. The bill prevents any government rule or division from targeting centers or forcing them to perform abortions. The bill affirms that “pregnancy centers serve women with integrity and compassion in this state and across the United States.”
There are more than 50 pregnancy centers serving women and families in Kansas and an estimated 3,000 centers in the U.S.
United Kingdom lawmakers call for delay on abortion bill
In the U.K. Parliament, lawmakers called for a delay in an abortion clause that could effectively legalize abortion up to birth, according to the bill’s opponents.
A cross-party group of members of Parliament (MPs) and members of the House of Lords (peers) called on the government to delay the clause in an open letter to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Health Minister Wes Streeting. In England and Wales, abortions after 24 weeks are a criminal offense. Though the bill does not directly remove the 24-week limit for abortion, it would remove any legal sanction on women aborting their children outside the legal time frame.
The letter, which had 79 signatories from different parties, said that Clause 246 (formerly Clause 208) would create ambiguities that need to be addressed. The letter warned that the new clause could lead to cases of infanticide going undetected and raises questions about cases like women being pressured into abortions.
“Since the advent of the abortion ‘pills by post’ scheme, disturbing cases of women inducing their own abortions outside the terms of the Abortion Act have already occurred,” the letter read. “As there would no longer be a legal deterrent against such cases, there is a real danger that such instances will increase with tragic consequences for women and viable unborn babies.”
The letter calls on the government to “hit pause” on the proposals and allow for “consultation, impact assessment, or meaningful scrutiny” and to draft guidance for police and health care professionals.
