Today, medication abortions account for more than 60% of all abortions in the U.S., up from

a quarter a decade ago. But in the aftermath of the reversal of Roe v. Wade, abortion pills

are now banned in at least 14 states. Special correspondent Sarah Varney reports on the resulting

rise of underground networks operating outside the legal system to help people access

abortion medication. And a note, some of the people featured in this story agreed to speak

with the news hour under the condition that we conceal their identities to minimize the legal

and personal risks they face.

It's graduation day on the west side of Chicago.

Gathered with family and friends, these women are celebrating their new lives as doulas.

Soon, they'll spread out across the country to support people through pregnancy and childbirth.

Welcome home, doulas.

But many of these doulas will also go on to help women end their pregnancies. They stand firm in the right of a person to give birth to not give birth.

Their teacher, who goes by Ashaba to protect her identity, is part of an underground network.

She helps people in states where abortion is illegal get access to abortion medication.

I would just be like, hey, do you want to learn about abortion care?

To women in the South.

Yeah, my neighbors, my friends, and they were like, yep, they're crazy enough just like me.

Ashaba says this word of mouth network stretches south from Illinois to Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

I will put any of the information that they need or medicines that they need in here.

Equipped with pills and herbal remedies, Ashaba drives once a month through the South, delivering

abortion supplies to fellow doulas who give them to women in need.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, demand has skyrocketed.

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