Legal and Medical Complications Regarding Abortion Pills

Authors: Charlize Osbourne, Mark Worrell

SUNY Campus: Finger Lakes Community College

Presentation Type: Oral

Location: UUW 324

Presentation #: 4

Timeslot: Session A 9:00-10:00 AM

Abstract: Access and the use of abortion pills are part of the controversial history of abortion. This issue is important because of the recent overturning of Roe v Wade. Although highly effective, the medical risks and legal hurdles associated with the prescription and the use of abortion pills endanger women’s lives. Research supports that these complications affect women in diverse ways. Providing greater recognition of services available to women is crucial for supporting their healthcare choices and understanding the obstacles they experience. Women in states with increased restrictions on abortion services are hindered in their reproductive healthcare options. Also, women in states with total bans or near-total bans are subject increased burdens to access abortion pills. Healthcare professionals are moreover restricted and subject to legal prosecution such as potential loss of their medical licenses from administering abortion pills. In addition, medical complications can be life-threatening to women, such as allergic reactions to misoprostol and ineffective responses to treating postpartum haemorrhage with misoprostol. Further controversy continues from research findings that the FDA has not provided full disclosure about the potentially toxic effects of misoprostol. The project shows how these impediments affect many women in diverse ways and highlights the benefits for Americans of greater recognition of these complications. Services such as Aid Access, TelAbortion, and medical articles being publicly available can benefit women’s medical concerns.