In the United States, American women are seeking recourse to medical abortions almost as often as surgical abortions. Sixteen years ago, when the abortion pill was granted marketing authorisation and the medication was launched in the US, all the signs indicated that it would soon outweigh the surgical option, as was the case in Europe. However, in a certain number of states, lawyers imposed restrictions on its use.
In 2014,despite the persistence of numerous restrictions, limited access to surgical abortion in certain states combined with better knowledge of the abortion pill increased the number of medical abortions carried out by the family planning association – the country’s only provider – to 43%.
Reuters (Jilian Mincer) 31/10/2016