Mail-order Abortion

• Author: Pamela Babcock
• Pages: 16-18

The Docket

EDITED BY KEVIN DAVIS / KEVIN.DAVIS@AMERICANBAR.ORG

SHUTTERSTOCK

National

Pulse

16 || ABA JOURNAL APRIL 2019

Mail-order Abortion

A Dutch doctor’s internet prescription service faces legal landmines

By Pamela Babcock

While traveling the globe as a physicia n

aboard the Greenpeace sa ilboat Rainbow

Warrior II, Rebecca Gomperts met many

women who lacked access to repro duc-

tive health serv ices and legal abortions.

In desperation, many resort ed to harmful

practices to end their preg nancies.

To the Dutch doctor, that seemed unfair. So in 1999,

she launched Women on Waves , a ship that travels to

regions where abortion is il legal and provides medica-

tion-induced abortions—in internationa l waters.

That’s just one of several initiatives G omperts has

spearheaded to provide reproduc tive health informa-

tion and services g lobally. In 2005, responding to count-

less requests, Gomper ts founded Women on Web, a

website that provides self-induced abor tion pills via the

mail in countries w here abortion is illegal or severely

restricted . The site went live in April 2006.

And with acc ess to abortion in the U.S. becoming more

di cu lt, Gomperts last year began o ering her serv ice

to American women, launch ing a website called Aid

Access in April 2018 . Aid Access prov ides only prescrip-

tions, not pills, which are sent th rough an independent

pha rm ac y.

Far too many women cannot safely and a  ordably

access abort ions and instead turn to websites t hat o er

pills without medica l supervision, Gomperts says.

“I get requests for help from women living in t heir

car with th ree children, a lot of domestic violence and

rape cases, women who can ba rely make ends meet

fi na nci all y,” Gomperts says. “ These women have nowhere

else to turn for help.”

But the Food and Drug Adminis tration is investigating

Gomperts’ mail- order abortion-drug practice in the U.S.,

and abortion foes are vow ing to fi ght back w ith federal

legislation.

GROWING DEMAND

Reproductive rights advoc ates say the launch of

Aid Access demonstrat es the growing demand for

self-induced abortions using pills, wh ich were fi rst

approved by the FDA in 2000 . According to the