Chemical abortion in the U.S. continued to rise in frequency in 2021 according to a new report, opening the door further for exploitation and risk to women.
Chemical abortions expanded in 2021, Operation Rescue reports, with a rise in the number of first trimester abortion facilities to meet the increased demand.
“Overall, two factors had the most impact on abortion trends in 2021," said Troy Newman, president of Operation Rescue. "Those were the passage of the Texas Heartbeat Bill, which prohibits abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, and the new pro-abortion policies of the current administration, which include the relaxing of Federal regulations on how abortion pills are dispensed."
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Newman was referencing the recent repeal of part of the FDA's safety standards for chemical abortion drugs.
Operation Rescue publishes its comprehensive Status of Abortion Facilities in America survey annually in two parts. Part one for 2021 was released Tuesday, and part two, The Status of Abortion Facilities in America: Part 2 – Chemical Abortions Gain in 2021, followed on Thursday.
Data included in the first report, The Status of American Abortion Facilities: Telemedicine’s Impact in 2021, had showed that the number of abortion facilities in the U.S. increased in 2021, to the highest levels in 13 years, and that the number of abortion facilities or businesses that use telemedicine to distribute abortion drugs rose a significant 44 percent in 2021 to a record high of 123 locations, now accounting for 17 percent of all abortion facilities nationwide. The number of abortion pill facilities rose by 24 locations to 272, part one of the report said.
Commenting on the second report focused on chemical abortion gains, Operation Rescue Senior Vice President Cheryl Sullenger said, "Operation Rescue’s abortion facility survey identified some disturbing trends, including the increased use of telemedicine and the now-permanent policy that allows abortion pills to be delivered through the mail."
"This policy change is expected to open the floodgates in 2022 to opportunistic and unaccountable pop-up businesses distributing abortion drugs through the mail," Sullenger said. "With abortion pills four times more likely to result in complications than surgical abortions, there will likely be an uptick in emergency room visits."
Tweet This: The FDA policy change is expected 2open the floodgates to opportunistic/unaccountable pop-up businesses distributing abortion drugs via mail
In 2021, 33 new chemical abortion facilities opened, the group's survey found. Fourteen additional facilities ceased surgical procedures and now only dispense abortion pills for abortions. Eleven abortion pill facilities stopped all abortions or closed for good. The report also says that Planned Parenthood now controls 78 percent of all abortion pill facilities, running 211 out of the 272 such centers now open.
Newman said the data from the group's survey confirms that the current administration "is driving changes within the Abortion Cartel that are putting the lives of women and their babies at greater risk.”
Read the full report, Status of Abortion Facilities in America: Part 2 – Chemical Abortions Gain in 2021, HERE.
Editor's note: Heartbeat International manages the Abortion Pill Rescue® Network and Pregnancy Help News.
