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Top line
Louisiana lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill that would require doctors to tell women who have drug abortions that they can still change their mind after taking the first of two required pills, an idea experts strongly hold. disputed as inaccurate and potentially dangerous, as abortion bans are enacted across the country and the looming threat of overturning the Roe v. Wade is pushing more and more people to resort to medical abortion.
The abortion drug Mifepristone is pictured at an abortion clinic on February 17, 2006 in Auckland, … [+] New Zealand.
Getty Images Highlights
In the most common form of medical abortion, women take mifepristone, which prevents the embryo from staying implanted, then misoprostol two days later, which causes contractions to expel the embryo.
Under the Louisiana bill, physicians who distribute the pills will be required to provide the patient with a statement that mifepristone is not always effective in terminating a pregnancy and that those who regret their decision after l have taken should consult a doctor to determine if there are options. available to help you continue your pregnancy.
The wording of the bill, which was passed by the state Senate by 31 votes to 7 on Tuesday and will now fall to Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards to sign or veto, has been toned down after initially claiming that the people could avoid, stop or cancel their abortions by not taking the second pill.
The sponsor of the bill, Republican Representative Beryl Amdee, said the bill[s] information that could save a child’s life, while GOP Senator Beth Mizell, who led the bill in the Senate, noted that the legislation simply requires people to see their doctors and does not say not to not take the drug.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says the claims about abortion cancellation are not based on science and do not meet clinical standards, and has criticized the legislation pushing the claims, saying the plans to law represent dangerous political interference and compromise patient care and safety.
Large number
38.6%. That’s the percentage of abortions performed in the United States in 2018 that were medical rather than surgical, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Chief critic
This bill is based on disinformation, said Democratic state Senator Jay Luneau during the Louisiana Senate debate on the bill. We need to make decisions not based on emotion, but based on medicine when dealing with medical issues.
Key context
Louisiana is the latest in a series of GOP-led states to pass legislation requiring doctors to discuss abortion cancellation despite the medical community’s setback, after Idaho, Kentucky, the Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Utah, although The Associated Press notes that many of these laws are related to litigation. Anti-abortion advocates have cited studies claiming that medical abortion can be successfully reversed halfway through, but other researchers disputed these findings and said the studies were based on flawed methodology that artificially inflated the success rate of inversions. A study by researchers at the University of California at Davis Health was prematurely halted for safety reasons after several women suffered severe bleeding requiring emergency care. I know there are legislators who want to pass a lot of abortion laws. It is very good. But do stuff that’s based on science. It’s not based on science, UC Davis professor of obstetrics and gynecology Davis Mitchell D. Creinin, who led the study, told the Salt Lake Tribune in 2019 of a law passed. in Utah similar to Louisiana legislation. You risk putting people in danger.
What to watch out for
Medical abortion is growing in popularity as state lawmakers take further steps to restrict access to abortion, and the Food and Drug Administration is now considering making an age-old ruling permanent. the pandemic which allows pills to be distributed by mail instead of directly by a physicist. This interest could continue to rise if the United States Supreme Court weakens or significantly overturns Roe v. Wade when she challenged the 15-week abortion ban in Mississippis, which could make access to abortion even more unequal if some states ban the practice. while others allow it. Data from Google Trends shows searches for terms related to medical abortion increased by more than 5,000% immediately after the Supreme Court announced the case.
Further reading
Louisiana’s abortion pill reversal bill gets final passage before going to governor’s office (Associateed Press)
Some lawmakers are pushing abortion reversal treatments. Study shows how dangerous they are. (Washington Post)
Controversial ‘abortion reversal’ scheme is put to the test (NPR)
New focus on the distribution of abortion pills amid Roe v. Wade (Politico)
Self-induced abortion research increases after SCOTUS accepts Mississippis Roe V. Wade (Forbes) challenge
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