Commentary on the standards of medication abortion
March 2022
A recent study provided confirmation that women can use abortion pills safely without first having an in-person medical appointment or getting an ultrasound scan. In Jama Internal Medicine, Jennifer Karlin, CHPR faculty member and assistant professor in UC Davis Health’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, co-authored a commentary on the study which builds on a body of research showing the safety of medication abortion and that restrictions, such as ultrasound requirements, in certain U.S. states are unnecessary.
"This makes the evidence even more robust," said Karlin in an interview with HealthDay about the study. She thinks the growing body of evidence that certain restrictions are unnecessary could change policy. "Eventually," she said, "there's so much evidence, there's a tipping point where people can't keep fighting it."
Read Karlin’s commentary: “Is It Time to Change the Standard of Medication Abortion.”