New Bedford Light | City clinic ‘filling a major gap’ with addition of medication abortion
Services begin this week across the South Coast, easing the area’s abortion desert
Story originally appeared in The New Bedford Light
For years, people living in southeastern Massachusetts who wanted or needed an abortion would have to travel 30 to more than 50 miles for an abortion provider.
But one year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion, access in this area has increased and New Bedford residents can now get abortion care without needing to travel outside of the city.
Health Imperatives, which has seven locations in southeastern Massachusetts, including the city, on Monday started offering medication abortion, also called abortion by pill.
“We really are filling a major gap,” said Julia Kehoe, CEO and president of Health Imperatives. “Until Monday, people would have to travel either to Attleboro or Boston or Providence in order to receive abortion care. And that puts a lot of pressure on people who are needing this care … they need to get it when they need it, in their own community.”
The organization received $700,000 in funding last year from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as part of the Baker administration’s efforts to increase access to reproductive health care across Massachusetts.
Last year, The Light reported crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) outnumbered abortion providers 8-3 within an approximate 50-mile driving distance for New Bedford residents, with locations in the city and Fall River. These centers do not provide abortion and often try to dissuade people from getting one. But now, abortion providers will outnumber CPCs in the region.
To start, the clinics altogether have 500 doses on hand, and Kehoe said several people have already made appointments.
There are also clinics in Brockton, Hyannis, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Plymouth and Wareham, and all will offer medication abortion. For those wanting or requiring surgical abortion, Health Imperatives will continue to refer patients to other providers.
Abortion by medication involves the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol. The former dilates the cervix and blocks progesterone, which is needed to sustain a pregnancy. The latter is taken 24 to 48 hours later; it causes cramping and bleeding, which then expels the pregnancy tissue from the uterus.
Medication abortion has grown increasingly common nationally and in the state. According to data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, medication (denoted as medical/“non-surgical”) accounted for nearly 50% of abortions in 2021, up from about 31% in 2016, and 24% in 2011. Data for 2022 will be released this summer.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states this type of abortion procedure is safe and effective. The pills are approved for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy. In Massachusetts, nearly 73% of abortions were at zero to eight weeks of gestation in 2021, per DPH data.
“Both nationwide and in Massachusetts, medication abortion is a hugely popular choice for people looking to end a pregnancy before 10 weeks,” said Rebecca Hart Holder, executive director of Reproductive Equity Now, an advocacy group. “And people choose it for a variety of different reasons. It really has been an important part of expanding access throughout Massachusetts … It’s a huge step in filling gaps in abortion access in the southeastern region of the state.”
Dr. Danielle Roncari, an OB-GYN, previously told The Light that some patients prefer the privacy of medication abortion, and that it can be similar to what would happen during a miscarriage. It has up to a 99% success rate, and can occur within a few hours.
The pills can be taken in a doctor’s office or clinic, or sent by mail following a telehealth visit depending on the provider, which can help reduce barriers to access presented by transportation costs and distance.