So maybe this is a silly idea, but I’d previously heard about this Dutch group called “Women on Waves” who would send a hospital ship to help women get abortions who’d otherwise be restricted. On their sister website they also have a way to request abortion pills by mail. From their site:

A medical abortion using Mifepristone and Misoprostol is the most common and effective method. The Mifepristone is taken first and blocks the hormones needed to sustain the pregnancy. After 24 hours, the Misoprostol is taken, which relaxes and opens the cervix and causes contractions in the uterus, helping to expel the pregnancy from the body. Medical abortion is a process that can take up to 2 weeks or even until your next menstruation to be completed, but most women return to their daily routines after 1-2 days.

We strongly advise you to hold the Misoprostol under your tongue to ensure no remains can be found in your system. In the event you need to seek medical attention, Misoprostol will not show up on any blood tests and therefore there is no way to prove you have tried to terminate your pregnancy.

A medical abortion done in the first trimester is proven to be 98% effective and is considered safer than regular childbirth or using over the counter medicines such as ibuprofen and high-dosage aspirin. Both medicines, Mifepristone and Misoprostol, can be found on the WHO’s Core Model List of Essential Medicines.

Some questions I was thinking about:

  1. Could mailing/smuggling Mifepristone and Misoprostol to states that ban abortion be feasibly done through left orgs (including groups like DSA)?

  2. Would there be any legal consequences for groups doing this, or any other potential threats to be aware of?

  3. How difficult would it be to procure Mifepristone and Misoprostol in large quantities for this purpose?

Obviously, Women on Web is already doing this, but it makes more sense to me if this operation were done stateside, wherever possible, when targeting restrictions in red states.

Again, maybe it’s a silly idea, but maybe also it could be a useful tool to make these restrictions at least partially ineffective.

Thoughts?

  • artichoke_heart [fae/faer]@hexbear.netEnglish
    1·
    2 years ago

    in certain states mailing the medication is already illegal so you’d need pretty good opsec if the mail gets returned to sender and they check what it is. i’d love to find some resources on good mailing opsec cuz most of the old info is prob useless by now.

    • pooh [she/her, any]@hexbear.netOPEnglish
      1·
      2 years ago

      Thanks for mentioning HRT, as that should also definitely be part of this discussion. Do you happen to know if HRT is readily available by mail?

      • AcidSmiley [she/her]@hexbear.netEnglish
        1·
        2 years ago

        It is, there’s a lot of people on this site who get their hormones this way. it’s absolutely recommended to work with an endocrinologist if you have the option, but many Americans lack that option even if they don’t live in a state that actively tries to exterminate them. Lack of public health care is a life threatening issue for a lot of trans folx and mail order hormones are a potential way to mititgate that.