Abortions for Under $5

While I was researching abortion clinics several years ago for a paper, I called around to see what the costs were and how many women generally obtained abortions from the clinics. I was only able to locate one clinic within driving distance to our county and was astounded to learn that it was a half a day’s drive there. The person I talked to told me that it’s very common to have to drive far to get an abortion in the United States; in fact, at least 4 out of 5 counties do not have access to an abortion provider. Though she couldn’t tell me any information about the clientele—which I understood—she did tell me that the procedure was around $500. Add that to the gas women had to use, plus a night’s lodging (she said you had to come back the next day to finish the procedure in most cases), and then a follow-up visit (and its gas and possible lodging) later, you’re talking around $1,000 for an abortion.

How anyone can think that “most women” use an abortion as their “regular birth control” is beyond me. My birth control costs less than $10 a month—and that’s without insurance.

I know anyone would be willing to spend that much more than they’d be willing to spend $1,000. The idea that a woman would willingly shell out that much every time she has sex is ludicrous. The few women I know who have been vocal about their abortion experiences were very, very poor as well, and I know that it would have been extremely hard for them to pay.

That said, as cheap as birth control is, I know it can fail. That’s how my daughter was born, after all. (I still maintain it was the best failure that’s ever happened during my college years, naturally!) I also once had my clinic call me and tell me that I’d received a batch of ineffective pills and to come exchange them immediately—after I’d been using them for two weeks! Women in such situations need to have options that don’t cause them to be unable to pay their rent.

That’s why I’m hoping that the “M” pills—Misoprostol and Mifepristone—become more widely accessible. According to doctors, these medical abortions—already representing 1 out of every 8 procedures—represent “a revolution in women’s health.” Not only do they save women’s lives, but they do so at a fraction of the cost. In India, for example, the pills can be purchased for under $5 each. While they can’t be used in all cases, they can be used in many—especially in the third world countries where 5/6 of the world’s abortions already take place. This would save the lives of women having six or seven children who routinely die in childbirth, allowing them to stay alive and care for themselves and their already large families at a much more affordable cost than a typical abortion. It’s also considered much safer than many of the alternatives poor families turn to.