Carrie Friel was in the process of leaving an abusive relationship when she discovered she was pregnant. Her partner told her that she could stroke her stomach until she miscarried and that would save some money.
“I strongly believe that he will kill me at some point, whether it’s by accident or on purpose,” Friel said.
She had a medication abortion in 2008 at a Planned Parenthood clinic in St. Louis, Missouri, while serving in the US Air Force. He was relieved to have the option of using medication instead of a procedure, and it allowed him to take less time off work. It wasn’t an easy decision, she said, but she knew if she didn’t do it, she’d never be able to walk away from that partner.
“I was so emotionally and mentally involved in my life with him that … I needed to be able to leave without giving him a phone number or letting him know where I was,” Friel said. “I still believe that an abortion saved my life.”
Access to telehealth prescriptions for mifepristone, one of two drugs used to terminate pregnancy or treat miscarriage in the first trimester, is threatened by an ongoing lawsuit in Louisiana. That state government sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, trying to strike down the agency’s 2023 rule that would allow drugs to be dispensed without an in-person inspection.
Researchers, advocates and survivors of domestic violence say it’s important to keep telehealth access available for people in abusive relationships who need discreet abortion options. The Louisiana case, however, argues in part that mifepristone is weaponized against pregnant women in abusive relationships and should not be available via telehealth.
personal visit mifepristone prescriptions for two days before the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked the FDA’s 2023 rule in early May, before the US Supreme Court stayed the decision on an urgent appeal. The court, excluding Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, Decided to keep the rules During the appeal case. But later the rule may be struck down again and the entire case may end up before the Supreme Court.
Data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey From 2023-24 About 34% of women and 17% of men reported experiencing physical or sexual violence or stalking by an intimate partner. This figure may be higher due to reluctance to report incidents of abuse. States with high rates of violence include many with near-total abortion bans, including Arkansas, Indiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and West Virginia — meaning residents experiencing reproductive violence have less access to abortion drugs.
According to research, pregnancy is a time of heightened risk for relationships with domestic violence, and intimate partner violence is a leading non-maternity related. because Mortality among pregnant and postpartum women. These risks are highest among blacks and indigenous peoples in the United States.
reproductive coercion
The mifepristone access lawsuit includes Louisiana resident Rosalie Markezich as a plaintiff, who says that availability of the drug without an in-clinic visit allowed her boyfriend to order the pills in 2023 and pressure her to take them. In her written statement in the lawsuit, Markezich said the stress caused ongoing trauma, and that if she had seen a doctor beforehand, she could have told the provider she didn’t want an abortion and the pills would never have been prescribed.
Susan B. Anti-abortion groups, including Anthony Pro-Life America and the Family Research Council, have submitted amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court about the kind of coercion Markezich says he experienced. Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said the telehealth option prevents in-person screening from coercion, and that individual requirements provide a “line of defense” against reproductive coercion. The Family Research Council also argued that the FDA’s initial approval of the telehealth provision did not include a thorough study of how it could be used for coercion, so it should be overturned.
People in abusive relationships very commonly experience what researchers call reproductive coercion, says Liz Tobin-Tyler, professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown University School of Public Health. According to American College of Obstetricians and GynecologistsThis includes situations where one partner tries to control when and how the pregnancy occurs, either intentionally causing the pregnancy or forcing someone to do so, as Markezich did.
Coercion can also occur when a partner interferes with the contraceptive method, such as trying to force the use of a particular method or intentionally failing to use contraception. Sometimes the abusive partner attends medical appointments to try to influence decisions about birth control and other medical care discussions, Tobin-Tyler said.
“It all comes back to that aspect of control,” he said.
Robin Turner, Montana director of the gender equity organization Legal Voice, said what happened to Markezic was terrible, but Louisiana can sue Markezic’s partner under existing laws, including drug-induced harm. He said reinstating the individual requirement for mifepristone would hurt many other people because it would apply nationwide.
“This is not a reasonable or proportionate way to deal with what happened to the client,” Turner said. “We have to take what happened to the plaintiff seriously – and understand that taking it (access) away is not effective.”
Turner co-authored a brief Urgent appeals for legal voices submitted to the US Supreme Court during the appeals process focus on the importance of access to mifepristone for people in relationships characterized by domestic violence.
“A lot of that relationship is your world is getting smaller, and we don’t want our systems to mimic the dynamics of abuse. But that’s what happens when the government takes away access to the health care they need,” Turner told Stateline.
Safety plan for hotline callers
Kayla Oberdorf, 24, said she was on birth control after she became pregnant in 2023 in upstate New York.
She was in an emotionally abusive relationship, struggling financially and still recovering from the postpartum depression she experienced after having her first child at age 20, despite thinking she couldn’t get pregnant due to a medical condition. The depression was so severe that he had to be hospitalized. She decided that terminating the pregnancy was the right thing to do for her mental health and the daughter she already had.
“I didn’t want to be tied to him for life, I didn’t want my daughter or any of my children to be tied to him for life,” said Oberdorf, who now lives in Georgia. “I already had a living child who didn’t need to be put in that situation, and if I had another one, even if I gave her up, I wouldn’t be able to handle it mentally.”
The study also found that pregnant and postpartum women in rural areas Experience high rates of intimate partner violencePerhaps because they are far from private medical care, that may contribute to low rates of preventive screening for abuse.
Elizabeth Ling, associate director of legal services at the nonprofit hotline If/When/How, which provides reproductive legal assistance, estimates that the hotline receives five to 10 calls per week from people who report experiencing intimate partner violence, whether physical, emotional or coercion. She said callers in rural communities are some who need access to medication abortions via telehealth and mail because they are often the furthest from a clinic and cannot travel because a partner is actively monitoring their movements.
If/when/how talks callers through their legal options and advises on legal risks, which Ling says is a top concern for people in abusive relationships. It is common for them to be afraid of their partner reporting them for an abortion, which may bring unwanted attention from the police and investigations, even if it does not result in a complaint.
The hotline helps people create a safety plan for taking abortion pills, talking through steps like where to send the medication, who has access to that mailbox, and how to navigate the situation with a partner tracking their movements.
“Abortion pills are really a lifeline for those who call and share their experiences with us,” Ling said.
Fraile, who still lives in Missouri, now has a daughter and a son in their 20s. He recently left numerous voicemail messages for Republican U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, who advocated revoking FDA approval for mifepristone and called for a federal investigation into the drug’s manufacturers. In her messages, she says that being able to choose her children has made her a better parent.
“I know if I hadn’t had the abortion, I would never have been able to get away from that abusive partner,” Friel said.
Stateline reporter Kelsey Moseley-Morris can be reached at (email protected).
This story was originally created by state linewhich is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes Nevada Current and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as 501c(3) public charities.
Nevada Current Part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact editor Hugh Jackson with questions: (email protected).
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republished With permission from Nevada Current
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