https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/10/plan-c-secret-option-mail-order-abortion/620324/
Really interesting. Thanks for sharing that.
Although it’s definitely not the time to eulogize Roe, I have always disliked the basis for that precedent and feel like rather than always having abortion rights hinging on tight SCOTUS votes, it might be time to let the free market determine how the dust settles.
If “Plan C” really is a relatively safe alternative, then I can see how that might work itself out.
Perhaps you should disclose your deeply held beliefs on the subject before floating a "free market" red herring like that. Gmafb.
Your implied meaning of "free market" means majoritarianism and a rejection of any Constitutional levers to counteract the "tyranny of the majority." Protecting the basic rights of those who may not constitute a majority or a plurality of a community has been deeply rooted in our American conscience for ... somewhere between 150 and 247 years (I guess there are arguments for fewer years). This is sometimes called the "counter-majoritarian difficulty". (E.g.,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-majoritarian_difficulty)
I'm not a (medical) doctor, but it seems to me that relying on, at present, the
potential availability of Plan C is a foolish substitute for safe,
legal abortions. I think you live in Texas, if memory serves. So you should know full well that Texas and many other states will quickly act to close any gaps in the law that currently exist as it relates to availability of Plan C. From that Atlantic article:
Of course, other factors might be discouraging people from pursuing self-managed abortions. The procedure involves severe cramping and heavy bleeding, and in the states that are most hostile to abortion rights, women who self-induce their own abortions must rely on hotlines and text support from faraway doctors if they get scared or experience complications. Aid Access is based in Austria, beyond the reach of Texas law enforcement and the new abortion-medication measure, but the site still inhabits a legal gray area: Four states have criminalized managing one’s own abortion, and about two dozen people have been prosecuted for self-managing an abortion since 2000. Mainstream medical research generally suggests that self-managed abortions are safe and effective, but anti-abortion-rights groups vehemently disagree and have published their own reports saying they are dangerous. Whatever the reason, far fewer women in the U.S. have medication abortions than in some other countries: Medication abortions accounted for 40 percent of all U.S. abortions in 2017, compared with more than 90 percent in Finland and more than 80 percent in Mexico City, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
So, despite whether you want to deal with the potential medical complications and lack of adequate healthcare services that accompany a self-induced abortion in America, you still might be a criminal for doing so. I think that's outrageous, and I find you to be a person who is smart enough to follow along, here.