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What abortion drug was Donald Trump talking about? How is it used in Australia?
Aug
Donald Trump suggested that open to revocation of access to the abortion pill if he wins the presidential election, after a reporter asked him last Thursday if he would “revoke access” to the drug. The next day, Trump’s campaign office he said he didn’t hear the question clearly.
Trump’s vice presidential candidate, JD Vance, has since he said Abortion policy should be determined by states, and the couple wants to “make sure that every drug is sheltered, that it’s prescribed in an appropriate way.” But it’s unclear exactly what that means for American women’s future access to abortion.
The abortive drug they are talking about is mifepristone, also known as RU486.
Mifepristone is one of the drugs used in medical abortion. It works by blocking the action of progesterone, one of the hormones critical for the development of pregnancy.
The second drug is misoprostol, which causes the uterus to contract and empty.
In Australia, these two medications are prescribed in a combination pack called Step MS-2 which is registered for exploit in women up to the ninth week of pregnancy.
What happens during a medication abortion?
When a woman passes by medical abortionfirst swallows a tablet of mifepristone. This blocks a hormone called progesterone, which is needed for the pregnancy to continue. This can result in spotting or bleeding.
Between 36 and 48 hours laterplaces misoprostol in the cheek and allows it to dissolve.
You will start to have severe cramps and bleeding, and your period will feel very ponderous, with blood clots and tissue passing through it. This is the lining of the uterus and the pregnancy being shed.
Doctors they often prescribe antiemetics and painkillers to deal with these symptoms.
The entire process resembles a miscarriage and usually lasts from two to six hours.
After the pregnancy ends, symptoms begin to composed down. Women will continue to bleed like a normal period for about five days, and some lighter bleeding can last from ten days to a month.
Medical abortion is safe and works in over 98% of cases if done early in pregnancy. The risk is only 0.4% serious complication such as infection or hemorrhage, requiring hospitalization or blood transfusion.
If a woman has a very heavy bleeding (passing clots larger than a petite lemon or soaking two menstrual pads per hour for more than two hours in a row), she should go to the emergency room because of the petite but sedate risk of hemorrhaging.
If the fever exceeds 38 degrees, it may mean an infection and you should contact your doctor.
Women should also have a blood test done. seven days after using Step MS-2 to ensure the abortion will be successful.
What other options are there?
Although medication abortion is quickly becoming the most common method of performing early pregnancy abortions, it is not the method of choice for all women.
However, this is not a solution for everyone, especially those without support, such as homeless women or people experiencing domestic violence.
For some women, surgical abortion may be the method of choice or a better option. It may be helpful to exploit help in making decisionswhich presents the advantages and disadvantages of each method.
When did Australians gain access?
As elsewhere in the world, the availability of medication abortion in Australia has allowed women to access abortion services they previously did not have access to.
Before the introduction of this method in Australia in 2012, abortions were performed surgically. The procedure was performed on a day in a hospital or surgical ward and under anaesthesia.
Read more: RU486’s arrival in Australia is a major step forward for women
Surgical abortions were then – and still are – hard to access. Unlike surgical procedures such as knee replacement or appendectomy, surgical abortions are not always performed in public hospitals, especially hospitals run by religious organizations.
For women living in rural areas, this was a substantial problem. Many abortion surgery facilities operate in metropolitan areas, and many women felt judged and stigmatized or had barriers placed in their path by doctors who did not believe in a woman’s right to choose.
Now a woman can get a prescription for MS-2 Step from her primary care physician and undergo a medical abortion in the comfort of her own home.
If her local doctor doesn’t provide this service, she can consult with a doctor who does via telemedicine. Medicare provides reimbursement consultations related to sexual and reproductive health issues carried out by phone or online video. Unlike most other telehealth consultations, for sexual and reproductive health issues you do not have to have seen a GP face to face in the last 12 months to be reimbursed.
This means a woman living in, for example, Western Australia can consult a doctor in Queensland and receive a prescription for MS-2 Step via text message or email.
She can then go to her local pharmacy to get a prescription for medication, have a medication abortion at home, and then return for a follow-up consultation via telemedicine a few weeks later.
What is the situation in America?
In America, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, it stripped women of their constitutional right to abortion, allowing many states introduce abortion bans. This meant the closure of many clinics that performed surgical abortions.
However, the availability of mifepristone has made it possible for women to bypass these state laws and obtain abortion pills via telemedicine or online using services such as Plan C Or Women on the net.
If Donald Trump wins the election and restricts access to mifepristone, American women’s options will become even more circumscribed and they may resort to unsafe abortion methods. Restricting Access to Abortion it never stopsit just drives them underground and makes them less sheltered.
