June 19, 2017 – Online Service

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Anchor lead: Women who receive abortion services online have few complications, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Are online abortion services safe? That question was addressed in a recent study of women living in Ireland, which has very restricted surgical abortion. The study found that in over 1000 women who accessed the online service, medical abortion was safe and effective for the overwhelming majority. Mike Klag, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, comments.

Klag: There is a movement to unmedicalize abortion, that is that there are medications which are on the market in the US and are on the market around the world which can be used to induce abortion. What we’re seeing in the US is that in some states, Alabama, Texas, a huge decrease in the availability of abortion for women and we’re seeing those techniques used in the US as well. It’s done at home, it doesn’t require a trip to what may be a hostile clinic. There needs to be the availability in the rare cases where there are retained products of conception and continued bleeding for medical follow-up.  :32

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.