Stephanie Mischell is a family physician in Dallas. The clinic she works at is no longer able to provide abortion services, so she鈥檚 spending her time connecting people to resources.
鈥淭here's just, unfortunately, so much misinformation when it comes to not just abortion, but to reproductive health in general,鈥� said Mischell, who also is a fellow with a national advocacy organization.
One thing she鈥檚 noticed is that people are not certain of the difference between and IUDs, and abortion medication.
Emergency contraception doesn鈥檛 cause abortions
Mischell says while emergency contraception is part of the spectrum of resources for people who can become pregnant, 鈥渋t's a really separate category than abortion care.鈥�
Emergency contraception can be used up to five days after after sexual activity to prevent pregnancy, she said. Medicines like Plan B, , and Ella, , work by preventing ovulation.
鈥淭he egg never gets released from the ovary and can't meet the sperm and get implanted in the uterus to become a pregnancy,鈥� Mischell said. 鈥淥nce the egg and sperm meet and are sitting in the uterus, that pregnancy is growing, those pills will not have an impact on that growing pregnancy.鈥�
IUDs work a little differently, she said. IUDs are commonly small, t-shaped, flexible plastic devices inserted into the uterus, preventing ovulation or preventing sperm from reaching an egg. IUDs can be hormonal or non-hormonal, and .
Abortion medication stops a growing pregnancy
Abortion medication, on the other hand, is a series of pills that , and then causes the uterus to pass the pregnancy tissue. Mischell isn鈥檛 allowed to offer abortion medication to patients because of Texas law after Roe v. Wade.
鈥淲hen patients show up in my office, most of the interaction is apologies for the fact that even though I know they could take [abortion medication] safely, that I know it's a good option for them, this is just not something that we're able to provide,鈥� she said.
Medical abortion 鈥減lays a crucial role in providing access to safe, effective and acceptable abortion care,鈥� according to the . Mischell said that the pills often cause cramping and bleeding for patients initially, and then spotting or bleeding for the weeks that follow.
鈥淲hen I talk to patients, I advise them to pick the type of abortion, whether it's medication or procedural, that feels most comfortable to them,鈥� she said. 鈥淔rom a safety perspective, they're both good options.鈥�
Confusion, emergency contraception and politics
She believes the confusion around emergency contraceptives and abortion medication isn鈥檛 a 鈥渕edical conflation, it鈥檚 a political conflation.鈥�
鈥淚 think this is the result of people making decisions about health care that are speaking not from a place of medical knowledge, but really from a place of power, control and shaming people who can become pregnant,鈥� Mischell said. 鈥淓mergency contraception is not abortion. And abortion bans should not apply to emergency contraception.鈥�
She鈥檚 concerned that Roe v. Wade being overturned might impact people鈥檚 ability to access reproductive healthcare, including emergency contraceptives and birth control. Her work already looks completely different than it did a few weeks ago.
鈥淚t's just so hard to see so many people who want this care, and have to tell them no,鈥� Mischell said. 鈥淚nstead, you are now stuck making these incredibly, incredibly hard choices about how to handle a pregnancy. It鈥檚 just completely heartbreaking and unfair.鈥�
Where somebody lives can have a huge impact on what kind of healthcare they can access. Mischell said that鈥檚 mind-boggling.
鈥淚t's just a dramatic inequality and a real disservice to the people of Texas,鈥� Mischell said.
Got a tip? Email Elena Rivera at erivera@kera.org. You can follow Elena on Twitter .
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