Last week, Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas asked the Supreme Court to strike down the shield laws of California, Massachusetts, and New York, a dangerous escalation in the effort to dismantle reproductive freedom nationwide. These states are targeting providers, helpers, and the patients who rely on telehealth to access care. In making their case, they cast patients enrolled in Medicaid as a burden on the state and lie about mifepristone, a medication with decades of evidence showing it is safe and effective. The same states also sued, in federal court, the clinicians and organizations who provide medication abortion by telehealth, and they intend to seek the identities of the patients who received that care.
“Today, access to medication abortion via telehealth remains unchanged, but anti-abortion politicians are attacking it from every angle. If they succeed, telehealth will be restricted for many, and patients will be forced to travel, sometimes hundreds of miles, and to pay for child care, transportation, and lodging to obtain fundamental basic health care. Some will be unable to make the trip at all and will be forced to remain pregnant. This is unacceptable and inhumane. Policymakers must act quickly to make abortion care and related costs more affordable and accessible – no matter someone’s zip code, income, or insurance.
For examples of policies that can help people afford abortion care and associated costs, see pages 7-11 here.