Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade two years ago, an alarming trend emerged on our national hotline, Pregnancy Decision Line (PDL). Women started reaching out to us with abortion pills in hand, anxiously seeking answers. “How do I use them?” “What will happen when I take the pills?” “What should I do if there are complications?” or even worse, “I took the pills and changed my mind. What do I do?” “I’m hemorrhaging and the online place I ordered my pills said if I have to go to the ER to tell them I’m having a miscarriage.” “My baby came out in my toilet!”, “I didn’t know that the fetus would look like a baby!”
Why were these kinds of calls coming in?
Prior to Roe being overturned, abortion advocates worked aggressively to expand access to RU-486 abortion pills (not to be confused with Plan B or the Morning After Pill). During the pandemic, these advocates ensured women could engage in online “telehealth” consultations and have pills mailed to them with no exam or confirmation of their babies’ gestational age. Reversing Roe, which made abortion illegal in certain states, only accelerated these efforts. It also unintentionally resulted, in many ways, making abortion easier to access than ever before. Now, pills can be mailed into states even where abortion is illegal.
Reports now show that more abortions took place last year than the year before Roe was overturned.
Furthermore, the abortion pill’s availability will significantly reduce the time between a woman discovering her pregnancy and being able to induce an abortion.
This underscores the vital importance of expanding PDL. Women and men are increasinglyinfluenced by pro-choice voices to opt for the “quick fix” of having a pill sent to them to end their unborn baby’s life. When they contact PDL, their distress and fear are more pronounced than ever before. They urgently need the compassion, hope, and help our exceptional hotline coaches can provide, as well as a referral to one of our life-affirming affiliated pregnancy centers where they can receive the necessary care to choose life for their unborn child.
We urge you to stand with us in supporting our hotline. Countless women and men nationwide are relying on us!