Telehealth Abortions Are Changing The Culture Of Medicine

Short Wave

NPR

Daily News, Nature, Life Sciences, Astronomy, Science, News

4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 31 May 2022

⏱️ 14 minutes

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Summary

Recent rule changes have increased access to abortion pills through the mail, using telehealth services. As many U.S. states gear up to restrict abortion access in anticipation of the Supreme Court possibly overturning Roe v. Wade, the medical professionals behind these services are preparing for an even bigger surge in demand. Groups that provide abortion pills are also preparing to face significant new obstacles, as anti-abortion states push back against expanded online access. Both patients and clinicians are testing the boundaries of this service that is fully legal in many states — but operates in a legal gray area in others.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.
0:04.6	Hey Shortwaveers, Emily Kwong here with a Shortwave favorite NPR science desk reporter
0:10.5	Ping Huang who's joined by NPR contributor Dr. Mara Gordon.
0:14.9	Hey Emily.
0:15.9	Hey.
0:16.9	So Ping, I hear you've got a story to start us off with.
0:20.8	Yes, so a few weeks ago the Supreme Court's draft ruling on abortion rights was leaked,
0:25.8	and that set off alarm bells that nationwide abortion rights could soon be ending.
0:30.2	I remember this day.
0:31.8	Well, on that day a woman named Nora was on the couch in her apartment, getting through
0:36.6	a medical abortion which is done by taking pills.
0:39.6	And I was bleeding through a pad about every 40 minutes.
0:44.4	And I would take penny liners, I made like these caterpillar pads just to cover all the
0:48.8	bases.
0:49.8	They lasted maybe 40 minutes.
0:52.3	We're just using Nora's first name for her personal safety and she's a baker in upstate
0:56.4	New York.
0:57.4	And I've always wanted kids, but I'm 22 and I'm poor.
1:02.9	And I just can't even wrap my head around like just going to the doctor, getting an ultrasound,
1:10.0	all of these things are very expensive over a baby that you could be forced to have.
1:14.8	While deciding to end her pregnancy was hard, getting the FDA-approved pills was not.
1:20.4	Where did Nora get the pills?
	...

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