'Abortion desert' ends with medication abortion services now offered on Cape, Islands

HYANNIS — Health Imperatives, a nonprofit with clinics in Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, has begun providing medication abortions at all seven southeastern Massachusetts locations.

The state Department of Public Health put out a request for proposals in November last year when Health Imperatives applied for funds to start the service, according to Julia Kehoe, Health Imperatives CEO and president. The organization received $700,000 in new state funding in order to start “integrating medication abortion.”

“Ever since I first ran for office and was elected in 2016, I was aghast that we have no access to abortion on Cape Cod or the Islands,” state Sen. Julian Cyr, D-Truro, said. “It's incredibly heartening to see that now we do have access to abortion in Hyannis, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and across southeastern Massachusetts, after working at the legislature along with my colleague for years.”

Medication abortion, as provided by Health Imperatives, is where an individual can take prescribed medicine to terminate a pregnancy. Surgical abortion, which is not available on Cape Cod and the Islands, is where an individual needs to undergo surgery to terminate a pregnancy.

Health Imperatives also has offices in New Bedford, Wareham, Brockton and Plymouth.

The service began July 3.

“We are getting positive responses in all the locations,” said Kehoe. “The reason we added the service was because we heard from different communities on the Cape that it was a need and so we're filling that need.”

Cape Codders will no longer need to travel to other places for basic procedure

Some consider Cape Cod an "abortion desert." The last abortion clinic on Cape Cod, Women's Health Center in Hyannis, closed in 2008 after a client died during a procedure.

The closest clinics offering abortion services — the Women's Health Center in Brookline and Four Women Health Services in Attleboro — are more than an hour's drive from the two Cape Cod Canal bridges, the entrances to Cape Cod for vehicles.

“Over the years, several clinics, hospitals, and nonprofits have been trying to provide care in an environment where the cost of health care greatly outpaces the resources. So this was just the perfect time where the state made resources available to add this important service to the comprehensive sexual reproductive health care we already offer,” Kehoe said.

For Cape Codders, the initiative means they will now have access to basic medical procedures to terminate unintended pregnancies, at a local clinic.

Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket residents will no longer need to travel for hours, they won’t have to worry about going to a place they don’t know and now they can come to a local clinic they already are comfortable at for receiving other care, Kehoe said.

“For people in the Outer Cape, it’s still an hour’s drive but that’s a lot better than what we had until now,” said Cyr.

What is medication abortion?

Medicated or medication abortion, refers to a procedure that uses medicine to end a pregnancy. That type of abortion doesn't require surgery or anesthesia and is typically used in the first trimester of pregnancy.

“We will provide medication abortion services for people who have been pregnant for 10 weeks or less,” said Kehoe.

Health Imperatives is determined to help and support patients at every stage of the process, according to Kehoe. “For cases with pregnancies that are over 10 weeks, we can refer them to other abortion services available nearby,” she added.

Upon arrival at the clinic, patients receive counseling about what will happen and what they can expect afterward. Then blood tests are done. An ultrasound will determine how far along the pregnancy is.

With medication abortions, patients come back to the office for more blood tests after completing the prescribed pills to make sure the treatment is effective.

Health Imperatives offices are currently accepting almost all types of insurance.

“We don’t want cost to be a barrier, even if you don’t have insurance, we can figure out other ways to deal with that. Many of our services are offered free of cost,” said Kehoe.

Mifepristone doses are stocked at all the locations

Gov. Maura Healey announced in April that the state took steps to protect access to the abortion medication mifepristone, after a Texas judge’s decision to invalidate the drug's federal approval.

Mifepristone is used as part of a two-drug regimen to terminate a pregnancy within the first 10 weeks, along with another drug, misoprostol.

According to Kehoe, the nonprofit has 494 doses in stock across the seven locations, which should last at least a year.

“We are extremely well prepared, and we have more than enough in stock,” said Kehoe.

“We are very grateful that we live in Massachusetts where the governor and legislature are committed to preserving a woman's right to choose and access this critical health service,” she said.

The need for surgical abortion services to be studied

There’s a much higher need for medication abortion right now rather than surgical abortion services, said Kehoe.

“We're keenly studying what the need in the community is right now and once we have more data, we would be able to determine if we need to offer surgical abortion services or not,” said Cyr.

Rasheek Tabassum Mujib writes about healthcare and education. Reach her at rmujib@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Health Imperatives medication abortion service starts on Cape, Islands