(ThePatriotWire)- A Phoenix abortion clinic has devised a method for patients who can terminate their pregnancy using a pill to obtain the drug fast without breaking an Arizona statute that still forbids most abortions.
Under the arrangement, which went into effect on Monday, patients will receive a free ultrasound in Arizona, a prescription via telehealth consultation with a California doctor, and then a prescription will be shipped to a post office in a border town in California for pickup.
The approach avoids an overnight journey to a major California city with an abortion clinic, albeit it is not as simple as before an Arizona judge declared that a pre-statehood law criminalizing almost all abortions could be enforced about two weeks ago. Additionally, it is easier to utilize than the prior workaround employed by Camelback Family Planning in Phoenix, which involved having a Swedish doctor write the prescription for the pills and an Indian pharmacy mail them to Arizona. This might take three weeks.
The Abortion Fund of Arizona, which aids women in paying for out-of-state access to abortions, will pay for the drugs, according to a nurse at the clinic Ashleigh Feiring. Until the 12th week of pregnancy, women can get an abortion with a pill. Before the June decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and let states outlaw all abortions, pill, and surgical abortions were permitted up until around 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration permanently lifted regulations requiring in-person clinician consultations before women may have a medication abortion, allowing women to schedule a telemedicine visit and receive the pills by mail.
However, Arizona has laws prohibiting mailing drugs and performing abortions unless the mother’s life is in danger. To accommodate patients who wanted to obtain the abortion pill and those who were more than 12 weeks along and required a surgical abortion, clinics made deals with clinics in New Mexico and California.
Feiring stated that Camelback Family Planning is unconcerned about providing ultrasounds and post-abortion care for those who choose to abort using the pill.
We don’t offer abortions, Feiring declared. “All we’re doing is informing folks.”
The first medication would be taken at the post office after being delivered to one of three California towns near the Arizona border, and then the second medication would be taken at home. They would return to the clinic in approximately a week for a follow-up examination.
Arizona has banned the mailing of abortion medication to women seeking an abortion.
Planned Parenthood will assist the patient in making arrangements for care if the patient decides to undergo an abortion but cannot pay the increased costs. Most of the 13,000 abortions performed on Arizonan women last year used pills.
