In a nationally representative survey of women, we examined their general support for and personal interest in three models of medication abortion provision: receiving the medication in advance from a doctor for future use, over-the-counter (OTC) access from a pharmacy, and purchasing abortion pills online.
Of those surveyed, 49 percent supported at least one of the three models; 45 percent supported advance provision, 37 percent supported OTC access and 30 percent supported online access. When women were asked about their interest in using these methods personally, 23 percent expressed interest in advance provision and OTC access and 16 percent were interested in online access. The results of the survey show that women widely support expanded options for accessing abortion care.
Women who experienced barriers to accessing reproductive care were especially interested in and supportive of alternative models. The service barriers that women identified included cost, finding a doctor or clinic and transportation to the clinic. More than one-third of women said that these alternative models could help women get an abortion earlier in pregnancy and would be more convenient, showing their potential to reduce barriers to care.
Read more about the study, “Support for and interest in alternative models of medication abortion provision among a national probability sample of U.S. women,” in the journal Contraception.