More women ‘self-managing’ abortions post-Dobbs decision: Study

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, access to abortion facilities has become more restricted in several states. That’s leading more women to self-manage abortions .

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a “self-managed abortion involves any action that is taken to end a pregnancy outside of the formal healthcare system." That includes things like self-sourcing medications — like buying the abortion pill mifepristone online — using herbs, plants, vitamins or supplements; consuming drugs, alcohol or toxic substances; and using physical methods, such as punching oneself in the stomach.

A new study shows the use of these methods is increasing. The number of reproductive-age women who say they’ve self-managed an abortion jumped by about 40% since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision , according to the study published Tuesday, July 30, in the medical journal JAMA .

The study’s authors said at the end of 2021, a few months before that decision, 2.4% of women said they had tried to self-manage an abortion . By the summer of 2023, about a year after the Dobbs decision, that had jumped to 3.4%.

Researchers said that number is likely far too low, since many people don’t talk about their abortions. They said it is probably closer to 10%, in reality.

Of those who self-managed an abortion , nearly 15% said they ended up having to see a doctor or nurse because of complications. Nearly 5% said they had to go to the hospital or urgent care for treatment.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends medication abortion as the safest way to end a pregnancy, however, this study found only about 25% of women went that route. About 3 out of 4 women used less safe and effective methods of self-managing abortion, with the most common being emergency contraception, like the Plan B pill.

Emergency contraception can be used to prevent pregnancy, but the FDA said it won’t make a difference once someone is already pregnant.

The study’s authors said the number of people self-managing abortion is likely to increase as barriers to facility-based abortion grow.

Since the Dobbs decision, nearly half of U.S. states have severely restricted abortions, with 14 banning it altogether. The study also said evidence shows more people are traveling to states where abortion is still legally protected.

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