According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, since abortion clinics closed permanently in Louisiana the number of online purchases of abortion pills from addresses in the state have increased by 170%. New Orleans Democrat State Representative Aimee Freeman said she’s not surprised.
“Women are just finding ways to take their healthcare into their own hands, if they can’t go to a physician there are ways they can order these medications online,” said Freeman.
During the 2022 legislative session, a bill was passed making it illegal to order such medications in Louisiana, but Freeman said she voted against it because there’s no way to enforce it.
“And with this particular study showing the increase of mail-order drugs for inducing abortions it’s clear to me that the law really doesn’t have a way to be enforced,” said Freeman.
Freeman fears the Louisiana legislature will pass even more laws negatively impacting women’s healthcare and she doesn’t see the trend of ordering abortion medications online decreasing anytime soon.
“They’re going to get the supplies and the medical inducing drugs they can through the mail which has been possible for a long time but now it’s going to be used more frequently because it’s their only option,” said Freeman.
According to the JAMA article, Louisiana leads every other state in online abortion pill orders, followed by Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, and Oklahoma.
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