A Texas law went into effect on Thursday that bans abortion-inducing pills – also known as Plan B – after the seventh week of pregnancy. That’s three weeks earlier than existing federal regulations, reducing the legal window for the two-dose regiment from 70 days to 49 days.
Terminating a pregnancy via Plan B is referred to as a “medical abortion.” It is the most common way Texas women end their pregnancies, according to state data.
“Medication abortion really allows people the control to find the setting and the timing that works best for them,” said Dyana Limon-Mercado, executive director of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes, to The Texas Tribune. “There’s all different reasons. You have people who maybe have unfortunately experienced sexual assault, and for them being able to have more control over the procedure … feels safer to them.”
The limit on Plan B comes just months after Texas enacted the country’s most restrictive abortion law. That prohibition – which is being challenged at the Supreme Court – has forced many women to seek Plan B, according to The Associated Press.
Pro-choice groups say curbing use of medical abortions is part and parcel of a movement determined to eliminate women’s autonomy over their own bodies.
“Texas is looking at the ways that people are navigating around restrictions and trying to essentially make that as unsafe and as frightening for people as possible in order to deter them,” said Farah Diaz-Tello, senior legal counsel for reproductive justice group If/When/How, told The Tribune.
Appearing on NPR‘s Morning Edition, Texas-based reporter Ashley Lopez adds:
The new law does something else that could affect abortion in the future. It cracks down on prescribing abortion pills via telehealth and sending them to patients through the mail. This was already illegal in Texas, but the new law applies criminal penalties – up to two years in prison and a possible fine of $10,000.
“After the statewide ban on abortions after six weeks, this is like Act 2 in [anti-abortion groups’] efforts,” added Lopez.
The bill – which Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed into law in September – also imposes new requirements on the use of Plan B before the seventh week of pregnancy, including “an in-person examination by a physician, a mandatory follow-up visit within 14 days and new reporting requirements for providers,” according to Good Morning America.
The Guardian adds:
Women’s rights and health organizations are working to provide better access to contraception in the wake of Texas’s severe restrictions.
People in Texas and other states “deserve access to the full range of reproductive options, which includes abortion”, Angela Maske, who works with the #FreeThePill Youth Council. “As we’re seeing these increasing attacks on abortion access, it’s really more important than ever that we improve access to birth control.”