Dr.Angel Foster had a backup plan.It was the first weekend in May.
A federal appeals court had just made it illegal to mail mifepristone, a pill that's part of the most widely used abortion method in the U.S.This story was produced in partnership with KFF Health News.Foster, a specialist in reproductive health, leads the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project, which ships abortion pills to some 3,500 patients a month nationwide, including in states with abortion bans.She told patients they had three options: They could get a refund.They could wait to see if the legal situation changed.
Or she could ship them only misoprostol — a second drug already used in most medication abortions.Combined, mifepristone and misoprostol are considered the clinical "gold standard" for medication abortion.Misoprostol can be taken alone to induce an abortion, but some studies have suggested it's less effective, Foster warned patients.
Plus, it can make the process longer and more painful, with more side effects, such as nausea and vomiting.Still, the vast majority of patients said the same thing: Just send it."They didn't care," Foster said."Their response was: 'Whatever can get to me the fastest.'"Two developments often get lost in the public's perception of the abortion wars.One is that there were nearly twice as many abortions in the U.S.
in 2025, compared to 2021, the year before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v.Wade in its momentous Dobbs decision in 2022.
The numbers come from the Society of Family Planning's latest #WeCount report.By December 2025, 29% of abortions were through telehealth.The second is that, because the mailing of abortion pills has become so widespread in the post-Dobbs era, abortion opponents may simply be unable to stop it.Massive legal battles are being waged by states with abortion bans, seeking to block the shipment of mifepristone across their borders.The temporary pause in May was part of a lawsuit brought by Louisiana; the U.S.
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