Washington D.C., Sep 21, 2019 / 15:01 pm
While the number of in-clinic abortions in the United States is reportedly down, the sale of illicitly acquired abortion pills may be up, according to recent data from the pro-choice Guttmacher Institute.
According to data from Guttmacher, a total of 339,640 medication abortions occurred in 2017, making up about 39% of all abortions. But because of the "black market" abortion pills acquired online or otherwise surreptitiously, it is difficult to track exactly how many abortions are occurring this way. Researchers told the New York Times that they estimate that secret medical abortions are making up a growing and "irreversible" portion of abortions in the United States.
"This is happening," said Jill E. Adams, executive director of If/When/How: Lawyering for Reproductive Justice, told the New York Times. "This is an irreversible part of abortion care here in the United States."
According to Guttmacher's data and analysis, in-clinic abortions were down by about 19% in 2017 when compared to data from 2011. Guttmacher estimated that the abortion decline could be related to a decrease in overall birthrates, as well as increased contraceptive use and "increases in the number of individuals relying on self-managed (i.e. medical) abortions outside of a clinical setting."