As abortion becomes more restricted across the country, a non-descript mobile clinic is operating on Colorado’s border, where women from out-of-state can go to pick up medications themselves.

“It doesn’t have any signage on it,” Dr. Julie Amaon, the medical director of Just The Pill, said. “We’re not trying to tell people what we’re doing to keep patients safe because we know that even in more protected states like Colorado, there are still lots of people that don’t agree with what we’re doing.”

Just The Pill provides medication abortion, which is a dose of two pills that can be taken at home. Patients who live in states with restrictions can travel to Colorado to pick up the medications from the organization’s sole mobile clinic, which parks at various spots near state lines….

Just The Pill works with patients across the West and Midwest. Everyone starts with a telehealth consultation, some joining the appointment from a hotel or car if this process is prohibited in their home state. Then medications are mailed or picked up by hand in Colorado, a state seen as a safe haven for abortion access in the region.

Just the Pill has worked with thousands of women via telehealth so far this year. The mobile clinic, which goes out on the road approximately every two weeks, has served around 100 women since it launched in August— the organization is hiring and plans to expand its hours….

During the pandemic, the Food and Drug Administration temporarily lifted the requirement that women obtain abortion pills from a provider in person, allowing them to be mailed instead. In December, the FDA made the change permanent. Still, many states prohibit these telemedicine visits.

In 2019 nearly half of all abortions were medication abortions, according to data from the federal government. It’s too soon to know how access has changed since the Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to abortion in June, but research indicates demand for medication abortion increased during the pandemic.

Abortion pills are only approved for use for up to ten weeks of pregnancy. Kate Coleman-Minahan, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado College of Nursing, points out that this method of terminating a pregnancy won’t always be applicable….

The above comes from an Oct. 27 posting on KUNC, public radio for northern Colorado.