What happens if Roe v. Wade is overturned? As states including Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia pass bills restricting abortion access, and as abortion remains an unaffordable option for many women, experts expect that more American women may turn to other alternatives. Some talk about a return to back-alley procedures and coat hangers, and women taking matters into their own hands. But this overlooks something important: SOME women are already giving themselves abortions at home, away from doctors and clinics.
*A European doctor prescribes abortion pills to U.S. women over the internet — but the FDA is watching*
Necolie remembers taking the pregnancy test in the bathroom and then throwing it at her husband. “I’m not doing this again,” she said.
By then, in late 2018, her husband had been out of work for three months. Necolie, who lives on the Florida Coast and asked that her full name not be used to protect her privacy, was borrowing gas money from friends so she could drive her three kids to school. During her last pregnancy, she had developed a serious liver condition and had to be hospitalized.
Necolie loved being a mother but knew that she wanted, and maybe needed, to end the pregnancy. “It was really difficult to get to that point, especially as someone who has been a Republican voter. … I was Catholic. I just didn’t believe in that for anyone, much less myself.”
Necolie found a clinic in Tallahassee, about three hours away, that would accept her health insurance, but she needed to pay $600 up front for the abortion and then submit the receipt to her insurance company for reimbursement. “There was no money to go there and do that,” she said. Necolie sat down at her computer and started researching ways to give herself an abortion at home.
On abortion-themed message boards and subreddits, she learned about pharmacies abroad that sold abortion pills: The medications mifepristone and misoprostol which, since 2000, have been available in the United States as an alternative to surgical abortion for women who are less than 10 weeks pregnant. Inside the U.S., such abortion pills are approved but heavily regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and can be dispensed only by health care professionals who agree to stock the medication and sign a waiver guaranteeing emergency care for women who need it.
But online, dozens of websites offer the pills for less than $100 to more than $500. Some make dubious claims about “pain-free” and “100 percent working” abortions.
As states including Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia pass bills restricting abortion access, and as abortion remains an unaffordable option for many women like Necolie, experts expect that more American women may turn to these websites for alternatives.
“As abortion access at clinics becomes more and more constrained, I would anticipate that more people will look for options, including online options,” said Dr. Daniel Grossman, a professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco.
But by selling unregulated abortion pills, these websites are breaking U.S. law, according to the FDA, which last year reportedly raided the home of a New York City woman who was mailing out abortion pills. The FDA declined to comment.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the story:
* SUBSCRIBE to NBC LEFT FIELD: http://nbcnews.to/2rAQzwx
* Watch the latest from NBC LEFT FIELD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8tG3...
What is NBC LEFT FIELD? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yh0j...
FOLLOW NBC LEFT FIELD:
Facebook: http://nbcnews.to/2rACLSM
Instagram: http://nbcnews.to/2rAsQwp
Twitter: http://nbcnews.to/2rAsWUN
VISIT OUR SITE: http://nbcleftfield.com
Reporter
Katie Engelhart
Editor
Yaara Sumeruk
Producers
Katie Engelhart
George Itzhak
Mac Bishop
Camera
Haimy Assefa
Bob Bikel
Mac Bishop
George Itzhak
Sutton Raphael
Dean Taylor
Ali Withers
Graphics
Owain Rich
__
ABOUT NBC LEFT FIELD:
NBC Left Field is a new internationally-minded video troupe that makes short, creative documentaries and features specially designed for social media and set-top boxes. Our small team of cinematographers, journalists, animators and social media gurus aims to unearth stories and breathe creative life into current headlines. While pushing boundaries at home and abroad, NBC Left Field will also be serving as an experimental hub for NBC News style, treatment and audience engagement.
#NBCLeftField
