The Future of Abortions in America

May 23, 2022 10:03 AM

The Cut and New York have removed their paywall for articles about finding abortion care. Find abortion services near you. How to have a medication abortion. How to protect yourself when seeking an abortion. Don't trust DIY abortion advice on Tiktok. How to get help for your abortion via mutual aid networks. The crisis pregnancy center trap and how not to fall for it.

Previously.

posted by toastyk (18 comments total)

Don’t trust DIY abortion advice on Tiktok.

No no no no no no no no
posted by Going To Maine at 10:24 AM on May 23, 2022 [13 favorites]

I still believe that the future of abortion in America is safe, legal, and on demand. But we've got a hell of a fight yet to get there, and that future won't come soon enough for all too many people seeking to terminate their pregnancies.
posted by biogeo at 11:59 AM on May 23, 2022 [5 favorites]

Oy...I should note that there's some issues with some of the information NYMag has posted, described here by journalist Andrea Grimes. It lists CA as having forced parental involvement laws, which it does not.

CalMatters has been documenting California's abortion access and how CA is making it even easier to access.
posted by toastyk at 12:17 PM on May 23, 2022 [10 favorites]

This perspective on the economic aspect kinda hit me: https://imgur.com/gallery/auQ8Bxe
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 12:25 PM on May 23, 2022 [13 favorites]

I am pretty worried that the next target is IUDs. Oklahoma's new law could be used against them. Easy access to IUDs reduces the need for abortions in the first place; Colorado about a decade ago started a program to provide easy access to long-acting birth control for everyone. The data show that ease of access to birth control reduces the need.

So, if access to IUDs gets curtailed along with abortion rights, then more people will want abortions and be unable to get them legally. I wonder what efforts there are to get long-form birth control into the hands of women living in places where abortion will soon become illegal (such as the state I am living in).
posted by nat at 12:51 PM on May 23, 2022 [12 favorites]

I'm think it's not in the list above, but apologies if it's a dupe. ineedana.com also seems like a good resource for people who need an abortion. I don't know the details, but good people recommend it. (I suspect most of the metafilter crowd probably have the resources to find clinics and buy plane tickets. But, maybe they have friends who don't.)
posted by eotvos at 1:27 PM on May 23, 2022 [1 favorite]

Well, I live in MD (suburban DC) and have cars and a guestroom. And am ready to host and ferry people who need it.
posted by atomicstone at 4:28 PM on May 23, 2022 [5 favorites]

That Andrea Grimes thread is worth a look.
posted by mediareport at 5:17 PM on May 23, 2022

This is a great resource because it directs people to the organizations on the ground that have been and will be doing the work of helping people find safe abortion resources. As someone working in the repro movement, I can say that one big concern is that folks who are pro-choice and who want to "do something" are going to try to make their own networks and systems that will end up harming vulnerable people and/or find themselves in legal trouble.

If you want to help in a meaningful way, then reach out to your local abortion fund, and be prepared to go through the training and vetting necessary. Also, I understand that people mean well, but no one wants to stay in a stranger's home during such a private and sensitive time. Abortion funds can put people up in hotels, which is safer for everyone concerned. But drivers are often needed.

Also, ineedana.com is a great website. I know the founder, and this is a continually updated resource, run by people who are well established in the repro right community.
posted by kimdog at 5:38 AM on May 24, 2022 [20 favorites]

Ineedana.com seems to need an overhaul. I entered my zip code and it claimed the nearest clinic that performed abortions was almost 20 miles away, when in fact there is a Planned Parenthood that performs abortions in my town.

I don't agree with the attempted gatekeeping anyway, and especially not when the official resource is flawed.

I'm pretty sure mefites are bright enough to look up the laws in their state and avoid breaking them if they wish to.

I had an abortion at 19 in a neighboring state. I would have been grateful to be able to stay in someone's home rather than driving myself back same day. I would have been touched if someone offered to drive me.
posted by Flock of Cynthiabirds at 6:14 AM on May 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

Call it gatekeeping if you wish. But it's actually more like unqualified volunteers who rush to the site of a major disaster. Intentions may be good, but if you don't understand the nuances of the situation, you can do a lot of harm. Also when Roe falls, the laws in many states are going to change drastically and rapidly, and it will be unclear for many weeks/months how the local authorities are going to choose to enforce them. Abortion providers and funds will have legal resources to interpret these laws and give specific guidance.

I am absolutely not warning people off from helping. And you can absolutely be a resource for friends and family. But I strongly encourage those who want to be "hands on" in helping strangers to take the lead from those who have been doing it for years. Because this is definitely not a new problem. People seeking abortions have always needed funds, rides, childcare and housing. There has been minimal abortion access in Texas since September. The need is huge this very minute.
posted by kimdog at 6:58 AM on May 24, 2022 [18 favorites]

Interesting comments about ineeda. It was recommended by really thoughtful clinic vest project folks. But, maybe they didn't look into the details either. Good to know!
posted by eotvos at 7:22 AM on May 24, 2022

@Flock of Cynthiabirds, ineedana gets their Planned Parenthood information directly from PP's website. There's a good chance that the location you are thinking of may not be providing abortions right now. You can check yourself against PP's clinic finder here. And if there is indeed a discrepancy, please MeFi mail me the location so that I can pass that info along to the people who run ineedana.
posted by kimdog at 8:50 AM on May 24, 2022 [5 favorites]

I'm not sure what the national statistics are, but in the last 5 or so years, the two people I know who terminated pregnancies and chose to tell me about it, both went the self-managed medical route.

In both cases the biggest problem wasn't availability, but lead time. Most of the online pharmacies that sell MTP kits ship from India, and can take weeks to arrive. That makes a significant difference in the unpleasantness of the ensuing termination.

What my uterus-having friends were pretty vocal about wanting was easy availability of the MTP kits on an over-the-counter basis, ideally right next to the pregnancy tests and Plan B.
posted by Kadin2048 at 10:50 AM on May 24, 2022 [2 favorites]

Republicans attacking women contributes to a pretty shit timeline, but at least we get to see Margaret Atwood wield a flamethrower.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 1:58 PM on May 24, 2022 [3 favorites]

No need to memail, I'll post it right here. The zip code I entered is 21701 (Frederick, MD) and the ineeda site claims the nearest location that provides abortions is in Hagerstown, 19.3 miles away. But there is a PP that provides abortion right in Frederick, 2 miles away. I didn't need to "check myself", thanks, but the PP tool you linked to does indeed include their Frederick location.

What are the odds I just happened to input the one zip code that ineeda doesn't get correct?
posted by Flock of Cynthiabirds at 5:14 AM on May 25, 2022

With a small number of errors in their database, the odds that someone on Metafilter input their local zip code and found an error or inconsistency are probably pretty high. The probability that it was you, specifically, would be quite low in that scenario, but that’s not the relevant probability to consider when estimating number of likely errors in the database. However, this is an important application where even a small number of errors is not great. Certainly having knowledgeable folks like yourself checking it and reporting any errors found so that they can be corrected is a very helpful and commendable public service.
posted by eviemath at 5:55 AM on May 25, 2022 [1 favorite]

This is not correct. If you go to Planned Parenthood's Abortion Clinics Near You tool, and enter 21701 (along with your age and the date of your last period... for this purpose I put in age 35, 4/15, which would be an early 6 week pregnancy), the first clinic that pops up is Gaithersburg, not Frederick. That is with the "Available Centers Only" option toggled on. If you change that to "All Health Centers", Frederick becomes the first choice with a red banner that says ABORTION SERVICES MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE. Screen Grab.

So yes, there is a PP in Frederick. Yes, they may have provided abortion services in the past, and they may again in the future. I do indeed see that they list abortion services on their page. But according to PP's own website, that is not a clinic that is available for abortion services NOW. And most people who need abortion services want it ASAP. ineedana is directly pulling from PP's own website.

Maybe Planned Parenthood's site is incorrect. But thanks for everyone proving my point that people who aren't connected to the reproductive rights organizations may not be in the best position to help vulnerable folks find abortion services. Especially after Roe falls and the stakes will be so much higher.
posted by kimdog at 6:15 AM on May 25, 2022 [11 favorites]