The US Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the fifty-year-old federal constitutional right to abortion. The ruling will likely prompt new restrictive laws to be adopted in about half of the US states. The number of illegal abortions, as well as covert abortions, may also increase in the absence of safe abortion clinics. It has been mentioned that medical abortions may become more common in such an environment. But how safe are they? Let’s find out.
What are medical abortions?
When medically prescribed medications are used to induce an abortion, this is referred to as medical abortion or medication abortion. Medical abortions are an alternative to surgical abortions, and it doesn’t require anaesthesia.
Watch | United States: Abortion pill access to be restricted?
During the first trimester of pregnancy, it is both safer and more efficient.
Mifepristone, a controlled substance in the US that was approved in 2000 as an abortion pill, is used in conjunction with misoprostol for the procedure.
Also read | Roe v Wade overturned: US Companies that have pledged support to its female employees
Are there any side effects to these medicines?
The Mayo Clinic lists the following as potential hazards of medical abortion: incomplete abortion, which may require a surgical abortion to be performed later; If the procedure is unsuccessful, a continued, undesired pregnancy, heavy and prolonged bleeding, fever, infection gastrointestinal discomfort.
Why is the drug regulated?
In the US it is required that the pill Mifepristone, be administered in person in an approved clinical setting. However, the second drug necessary to complete the abortion, misoprostol, could be taken at home.
According to Scientific American, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical bodies have demonstrated the medication’s safety.
Also read | Roe v Wade overturned: Here’s what the ruling means for millions of American women
In spite of that 28 states already require abortion providers to perform an ultrasound before prescribing medication, and 27 states mandate that patients wait a specific amount of time—typically one to three days—between a mandatory counselling session and the abortion itself.
However, Scientific American contests that the guidelines are less about science and more about politics and ideology.
As per Cosmopolitan more than half or 54 per cent of abortions in the US were carried out with medication in 2020 and that abortion pills are safer than Tylenol, penicillin, and Viagra. Serious side effects that require hospitalisation occur in less than 0.4 per cent of all instances.
Watch WION LIVE HERE:
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
