The U.S. Supreme Court has lifted a telemedicine ban on mifepristone, the abortion pill.

Medication abortions account for the majority of pregnancies terminated within the first twelve weeks, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The decision means women in West Virginia will at least temporarily be able to access medication abortion through the mail.

Brandi Collins-Calhoun, movement engagement manager for the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, said anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers continue to pop up in communities in West Virginia and the Appalachian region.

"Coercing people into carrying pregnancies to term can be life or death," Collins-Calhoun stressed. "It could be housing or unhoused. Having children impacts one's life in such a drastic way, more than just changing diapers and daycare."

More women are turning to medication abortion via mail, especially those in states which have effectively banned the procedure since Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly four years ago.

In West Virginia, abortion is illegal, with some very limited exceptions for medical emergencies or cases of rape or incest but only when reported within eight weeks for adults and fourteen weeks for minors.

At the same time, abortion access-centered philanthropy appears to be stalling, with several major institutions announcing plans to reduce or stop funding to improve abortion access, including the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and the Gates Foundation.

Collins-Calhoun noted part of the issue is philanthropy has not deeply invested in local Southern and Appalachian organizations working to improve access to reproductive care.

"What we saw really early on in our research was that a lot of funding was going to national repro rights organizations and not a lot of state and local-level ones," Collins-Calhoun observed.

Data from the committee show nearly half the state’s counties are considered maternity care deserts, yet more crisis pregnancy centers are popping up, largely funded by private donors, faith groups and churches.

Source: Public News Service