{"id":264476,"date":"2022-03-18T14:38:03","date_gmt":"2022-03-18T19:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=264476"},"modified":"2022-03-17T15:29:16","modified_gmt":"2022-03-17T20:29:16","slug":"opportunists-abortion-pill-roe-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/opportunists-abortion-pill-roe-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Opportunists cash in on abortion pill deregulation as in post-Roe days… and safety is not paramount"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the early days of legalized abortion, unscrupulous abortion profiteers at\u00a0brick-and-mortar facilities\u00a0quickly attempted to cash in on the burgeoning abortion business. Something similar is happening today with the unregulated abortion pill industry.<\/p>\n

Decades ago,\u00a0as states began to legalize abortion, even some in the media could see this industry could not be trusted to look after the safety of women.\u00a0A series published<\/a> in 1978 by The Chicago Sun-Times proved this theory true when undercover reporters at the paper stepped up to\u00a0investigate<\/a> the new terrain of brick-and-mortar abortion facilities. Today, due to lax regulations, the potential for those same dangers exists inside the cyber abortion industry.<\/p>\n

“Abortion derby” v. abortion expansion<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the 1970s, the Chicago Sun Times called<\/a> the race for increased<\/em> abortion an “abortion derby.” According to the Sun Times’ series, abortionists\u00a0would \u201ccompete\u201d to see who could commit the most abortions.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the abortion profiteers, there is money to be made and no time to waste,\u201d the paper wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Authors detailed how some staffers were paid a commission to probe a patient\u2019s \u201cfears and misgivings.\u201d They noted how abortion facility telephones \u2013 used by counselors to convince women to purchase abortions \u2013 were the \u201cmost valuable single tool of the abortion trade.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey sell abortions like other hucksters sell food freezer plans or slick magazines,\u201d reporters wrote.<\/p>\n

According to a former hotline worker<\/a>, no counseling was offered. \u201cWhat we were doing there is selling abortions. We got no training except in what\u00a0not<\/em>\u00a0to say. How not to use words like \u2018fetus\u2019 or \u2018kill\u2019 that might scare the customers away. Don\u2019t mention complications.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Abortion Profiteers Chicago Sun Times part four Dr Ming Kow Hah and Ulrich Klopfer<\/p><\/div>\n

Today, the race to increase abortion pill use mirrors the “abortion derby” days but goes further, keeping women in the dark by deceptively marketing abortion pills under euphemisms like “missed period<\/a>” pills.\u00a0In addition, the abortion pill is falsely sold as “safer than Tylenol<\/a>,” which will feel like a “heavy period.” However, testimonies from multiple abortion pill clients contradict<\/a> that claim’ they report experiencing severe pain and discomfort, with several seeking care at emergency facilities.<\/p>\n

There is no denying how the virtual industry is making a financial\u00a0killing<\/a>\u00a0from abortion pill sales. Virtual abortion enables abortion facilities to\u00a0increase profits<\/a> by eliminating facilities and staff, and by\u00a0drastically reducing<\/a> the time spent with clients. A Texas abortion chain even\u00a0marks up<\/a> the cost of the abortion pill regimen (which can be purchased for under<\/a> $100) by charging<\/a> clients four to five times<\/em> more.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jamie Phifer, founder and medical director of Abortion On Demand (AOD) acknowledged<\/a>\u00a0 \u201cper patient cost is relatively low<\/a>\u201d \u2014 so low that rather than cut the cost to abortion clients, AOD donates \u201c60 percent of our profits to Keep Our Clinics<\/a> of the Abortion Care Network<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ:\u00a0Pro-life landlords: Abortion pills could be sold on your property without your knowledge<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Shoddy care v. little to no follow-up<\/strong><\/p>\n

The legal brick-and-mortar facilities investigated<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0the Sun Times\u00a0failed to offer critical post-operative care and were reportedly incompetent at record-keeping. Authors of the “Abortion Profiteers” series also called the state\u2019s regulation of these abortion facilities \u201cslipshod,\u201d noting that the health \u201c[d]epartment\u2026 does not even know how many have died from their abortions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, that kind of fake medical care continues as online abortion pill businesses admit<\/a>\u00a0to spending little time with their clients and conducting little to no follow-up.The\u00a0skytocketing growth<\/a>\u00a0of unregulated virtual abortion pill dispensaries is due in part to the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent move to\u00a0weaken<\/a>\u00a0important safety requirements on the abortion pill and permanently allow the pills to be shipped through the mail. And the FDA made this move despite the fact that there are no federal reporting mechanisms in place to document complications.<\/p>\n

Incompetent v. Non-medical\u00a0Abortion Staffers<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the Sun Times sent undercover reporters to brick-and-mortar facilities, what they found<\/a> was shocking.\u00a0“We were hired off the streets as aids, medical assistants, and counselors,” the investigators reported.<\/p>\n

“Without checking our references or credentials, four of Chicago\u2019s abortion clinics gave us jobs we were unqualified to hold and tasks we were untrained to perform….They wanted us to remove IVs, administer injections, give psychological counseling and assist in surgery,\u201d they claimed.<\/p>\n

The paper took note of how untrained the facility staff seemed to be, finding:<\/p>\n