LANSING, Mich. — In 2020, out of the nearly 30,000 Michigan abortions, more than half involved abortion pills rather than a surgical procedure.
In 2022 the question is, if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade as expected and surgical abortions are outlawed in Michigan, will abortion pills be outlawed as well?
"The expectation is that yes, if Roe v. Wade is overturned, that includes abortion by all methods," said Dr. Sarah Wallet, the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Michigan.
David Kallman, senior legal counsel with Great Lakes Justice Center, a conservative legal organization, said, "I don't think the abortion pills themselves are impacted in any way."
The pills were approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in 2000 and work in a set of two. The first pill, mifepristone, stops the pregnancy from growing. The second pill, misoprostol, is taken a day or two later and ends the pregnancy.
These drugs are approved for abortion within 10 weeks of a woman's last menstrual period.
"It is a very common method and highly sought after," Wallett said. "Now medication abortion didn't exist in 1973 when Roe v. Wade was decided, but it's clear that now when politically abortion is talked about, it tends to include all of the various methods."
However Kallman says he does not think the pills will be banned in Michigan because the woman chooses to take the pill herself.
"The prescriber is not making that mother take the pill. The prescriber is not the one performing the abortion. It's the mother doing it," said Kallman. "And under Michigan law, the mother can't be prosecuted."
There's also the issue of prosecuting the prescriber. Abortion pills require prescriptions, but more recently the FDA has allowed the pills to be prescribed via tele-health and mail delivery.
"What if it's somebody from out of state ordered the pill and so somebody from New York mailed it to them?" said Kallman. "Are you going to prosecute somebody in New York who mailed the pill to this person? I don't think so."
We'll know more about the future for abortion pills in Michigan when the high courts make their final ruling on Roe v. Wade this month, but for now, the pills are protected by a lawsuit filed by Wallett and Planned Parenthood asking the courts of Michigan to confirm that abortion is a protected right for Michiganders in the Michigan state constitution.
Wallett said; "Just a few weeks ago, we received a preliminary injunction that basically means that no matter what happens at the Supreme Court, abortion access in Michigan will remain accessible while our case continues through the court system."
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