Women face danger getting abortion pill online
Only five percent of online pharmacies are legit operations
As reproductive health clinics close throughout the country, women have increasingly turned to online pharmacies to get abortion medications. The problem is that most of the services they use are illegitimate operations masquerading as real providers.
About 95 percent of the roughly 35,000 online pharmacies worldwide operate illegally, according to the ASOP Global Foundation, which monitors illegal pharmaceutical sales. Dr. Veronica Vernon, who is an expert with the organization, explained how these so-called pharmacies work.
The websites advertise drugs. The design of the site is usually professional and convincing. After orders, the service then mails drugs to the patient, often with things that aren’t actual medications.
“What I'm concerned about is the fact that they can get access to medications that aren't really legitimate medications that are often counterfeit medications that could cause incredible harm to someone,” Vernon said.
Women have scoured the internet for abortion pills since they discovered the Supreme Court would overturn Roe. Roughly 350,000 internet searches occurred for abortion medication in the United States during the week of May 1 to 8, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association. So for feminist leaders, this may be one of the most important–and uncovered–stories happening right now in the abortion rights movement.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued several warnings to these phony pharmacies.
“It's important to note that the FDA is investigating this,” Vernon said. “But as soon as you figure out 10 online pharmacies that are operating illegally, 20 more pop up.”
Vernon wants more state legislatures to regulate pharmacies that operate in their commonwealths. International pharmacies, which are common, present an additional problem because they are not subject to any regulation in America. Vernon also thinks it’s important to liberalize laws pertaining to abortion medication.
“I think when you see laws that restrict certain medications, or there's a shortage of certain medications, illegal pharmacies really thrive in those spaces–claiming to have access to these drugs that people are desperate to get a hold of,” Vernon said.
The FDA has a website that helps women find reliable online pharmacies operating in their state. The service is located here.
Women face danger getting abortion pill online
I think this is unnecessarily alarmist. The site list is global. When someone did a study of grey market sites in the U.S., they found that for the most part they sent what they said they were sending. See the study here: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.almendron.com/tribuna/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/piis0010782417304754.pdf