(EWTN News) Teenagers and young adults are obtaining abortion pills through telehealth at high rates, a recent report found.
The report, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum, looked at telehealth abortion requests for an online provider across three age groups (ages 15–17, 18–24, and 25–49). The report found that young adults (ages 18–24) order abortion medication at much higher rates than older adults and that more teenagers order abortion pills in states with parental notification or consent laws around abortion.
The study found a “growing demand among adolescents and young adults in legally constrained environments.”
“Young people appear to increasingly rely on online telemedicine services for abortion care, with compounding legal restrictions driving higher demand,” the report read.
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Michael New, senior associate scholar at Charlotte Lozier Institute and assistant professor at The Catholic University of America, told EWTN News that the report shows how abortion pills “undermine abortion bans and heartbeat laws” and “pro-life parental involvement laws that are in effect in over 30 states.”
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For minor girls ages 15–17 requesting abortion pills, New pointed out that “the largest increase was seen in states that had both parental consent laws and parental notice laws.”
“Overall online requests for chemical abortion pills increased after the Dobbs decision,” New noted. “However, states that had some sort of parental involvement law had considerably larger increases than states with no parental involvement law.”
This can put women at risk, he said.
“There are serious public health concerns with giving minor girls access to chemical abortions by telehealth,” New said. “Minor girls who are seeking abortions via telehealth are often doing so to conceal their pregnancy or their sexual activity from their parents. As such, they might be less likely to seek medical attention if complications occur. This increases the health risks involved with obtaining an abortion.”
Multiple studies indicate high rates of hospitalizations for women taking the abortion pills. Chemical abortion has a complication rate four times that of surgical abortion, according to one study. Another report found that abortion pill complications are often underreported or misclassified.
“Overall, research has shown that chemical abortions pills taken under in-person medical supervision have a much higher complication rate than surgical abortions,” New said. “The fact that minor girls are obtaining chemical abortion pills online without in-person medical supervision only increases those risks.”
Editor's note: This article was published by EWTN News and is reprinted with permission.
