For now, abortion remains accessible even in states where it’s banned — at least for those who know where to look. It’s still legal in two-thirds of the country, and numerous websites explain how to order medications from international pharmacies to end early pregnancies at home.
But not all patients have equal access to reliable information. Even before Roe v. Wade’s reversal, the most vulnerable U.S. patients — particularly low-income women, women of color and first-generation immigrants — disproportionately lacked accurate knowledge about abortion access. Today almost half of Americans are uncertain about the legality of medication abortion.
That’s why we should be alarmed by a recent report from KFF, which found that in states that make it a crime for a doctor to provide an abortion, 78% of OB-GYNS don’t make an out-of-state referral and 30% don’t inform their patients about online resources explaining their abortion options. In states that ban providing abortion between six and 22 weeks, 44% of OB-GYNs don’t refer for abortion services, and 10% don’t offer information.
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