TURNING POINT

Abortions by Pill Now Rival Surgery

As much as 43% of terminations in the U.S.

New data show American women are now undergoing medication abortions nearly as often as surgical abortions, which, according to Reuters, has marked a turning point for the procedure in the United States. Restricted access to surgical abortions and innovative efforts to dispense prescription medications have led to the new approach. Forty-three percent of pregnancy terminations at Planned Parenthood clinics across the country used medication in 2014. In 2010, that percentage was 35. Among states with few or no restrictions, such as Michigan, that percentage stood at 55 percent. In Iowa, it’s 64 percent. The prescription medications used to induce abortions were approved by the FDA in the U.S. 16 years ago, but lawmakers in several states have put many restrictions on their use. Nationwide, there has been a decline in women seeking abortions.