Women in the United States can now order safe abortion pills online through the organization Women on the Web, allowing women to medically induce their own abortions at home. The organization performs online consultations, fills prescriptions, and ships the pills to women in countries that legally allow abortions, and studies have determined that the service is safe for women.
Women on the Web is an international organization that has been serving women throughout the world where abortion is legal but previously did not service women in the United States because of fears that the U.S. anti-abortion movement would shut down access for women globally. The organization still has this fear but launched “Aid Access” specifically for women in the United States because of the high demand from American women and the inaccessibility of abortion in many states.
Since the organization launched its services in the U.S. six months ago, it is estimated that 600 pills have been sent to American women. The organization is currently the only abortion doctor providing these services online for the United States. Some worry that the organization will start to receive a flood of requests from American women once the service becomes better known, but the organization is unsure if it can handle all of those requests. Women on the Web’s founder, Rebecca Gomperts, hopes to be the “first of many others, so [she] won’t be in a situation where [she] can’t deal with the amount of requests.”
The World Health Organization recognizes Women on the Web’s services as a viable abortion option according to a Guttmacher Institute report on self-managed abortions.
Media Resources: The Atlantic 10/18/18