Just The Pill

Expanding Access to Medication Abortions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Isabel Meyer-Mueller

Access to Abortions in Minnesota

In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade that the Fourteenth Amendment protects a woman’s right to choose whether or not to have an abortion, therefore legalizing abortion in the United States. However, abortion has continued to be a highly controversial and political topic. Today, the ability to access abortion care continues to be under threat and is highly dependent on geography and socioeconomic status. In Minnesota, for example, 97% of counties have no abortion clinic or providers and 61% of women live in those counties (Jones, Witwer, & Jerman, 2019). Although there are so few clinics, many Minnesotans mistakenly believe that our state is a progressive leader in terms of abortion access. A recent survey asked Minnesotans to guess the number of abortion clinics in the state. The average guess was 41, but in reality, there are only five (PerryUndem and Bellwether Consulting, 2019). The same survey found that 96% of Minnesotans could not name a single state law or restriction on abortion, when there are 24-hour mandatory waiting periods, rules that force minors to notify parents regardless of relationship, and a mandated medically unnecessary appointment where doctors read a script with medically irrelevant information, just to name a few. Abortion care became even more difficult to access in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic made going to a doctor's office a potentially risky situation. When abortion procedures were temporarily halted in response to the pandemic, Brooke Bailey saw an opportunity to expand access to abortion for all Minnesotans, and Just The Pill was born.

Just The Pill

Just The Pill is a nonprofit clinic that offers telemedicine appointments for sexual and reproductive healthcare in rural Minnesota. They are currently certified by the National Abortion Federation and licensed by the state of Minnesota to provide abortion by pill, as well as birth control consultations and prescriptions and treatment for sexual infections. Just The Pill was born during the COVID-19 pandemic when abortion procedures were temporarily halted. In response, Dr. Julie Amaon and Brooke Bailey started Just The Pill and sent medication abortions through the mail after telehealth appointments. Now, they also rent an RV and travel across Minnesota to see clients in rural settings. In the future, Just The Pill hopes to expand in order to also provide primary care, gender0affirming care, fertility support, birthing support, and general support for their patients’ ability to raise children in healthy and supported environments. Although Just The Pill focuses on sexual and reproductive health, their central mission is to take a holistic approach to health and respect the diversity of each and every client they see.

My Work

While working for Just The Pill, I was lucky to be able to work on a variety of different projects that gave me a better understanding of what is required to run a successful public health nonprofit. Just The Pill is a relatively new startup, so most of my work revolved around engaging supporters, fundraising, and finding ways that the organization could expand to best fill the needs of rural Minnesotans. On a day-to day-level, I was in charge of running Just The Pill’s social media accounts and writing newsletters to keep patients and supporters up to date. The content I created detailed new updates about the organization, new legislation related to reproductive health, ways to get involved with the organization, and how to donate. I also interacted with followers, designed graphics, and implemented a giveaway to increase the reach of our accounts. For fundraising, I am currently working with a graduate student intern to plan a reproductive health trivia night that is scheduled for March 2021. We are researching, writing questions, and organizing prizes and other event logistics in order to raise money for a mobile clinic. I am also working with a donation platform called Givvor in order to create a virtual community for our supporters to stay connected with Just The Pill and each other. For this project, I have been working with the CEO of Givvor to design a donation campaign that will include all of our supporters across a variety of platforms. Lastly, I have been researching and reaching out to other local organizations that share Just The Pill’s values in order to set up free community health days and ask about how Just The Pill can expand to best meet the health needs of rural Minnesotans.

Here is the Instagram page that I updated daily! Feel free to follow along @justthepill

Lessons Learned

Interning at Just The Pill was a great complement to my Concentration in Community and Global Health. I was able to see firsthand some of the concepts that I had learned about in my classes, such as the social determinants of health, rural healthcare, and the implementation of public health interventions. I was also introduced to new concepts and was able to learn extensively about the business side of public health, such as non-profit fundraising and legal policies associated with healthcare and specifically abortion.

I also leave Just The Pill with great admiration for my supervisors, Brooke and Julie. I find it inspiring that they noticed a problem (an inability for Minnesotans to access abortion) and were able to build such a successful organization so quickly and with the constraints of a pandemic. I also respect that through each step of the process they center their clients’ needs and how Just The Pill can best serve them. Whether it is having appointments on weekends to fit their clients’ schedules or creating snack packs for the children that are brought to appointments, I am always impressed with their compassion and commitment to their clients. Working at Just The Pill and witnessing Brooke and Julie in action has undoubtedly impacted my future career goals. In the future, I hope to work in a situation with direct client contact because I have witnessed firsthand the impact that one thoughtful healthcare worker can have on their patients.

These are my amazing advisors, Brooke and Julie! This photo was taken up north on one of their service trips in the mobile clinic!

References

Jones, R. K., Witwer, E., & Jerman, J. (2019). Abortion incidence and service availability in the United States, 2017. New York, NY: Guttmacher Institute.

PerryUndem & Bellwether Consulting. (2019, May 29). Minnesotan’s Views On Abortion: Results from a Statewide Survey of Minnesota Voters. Retrieved Feb. 26 from https://unrestrictmn.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/PerryUndem_MNVotersSurvey_2019.pdf

Header image by Isabel Meyer-Mueller

Isabel Meyer-Mueller

Hello! My name is Isabel Meyer-Mueller and I am a graduating senior here at Macalester. I am studying Psychology and Community & Global Health and I am originally from Saint Paul- about 15 minutes from campus. While at Mac, I sang in the Concert Choir, volunteered at Fairview Hospice and Meals on Wheels, worked at Colossal Cafe, and studied abroad in Stockholm, Sweden. After graduation, I plan to work in the Public Health field and then pursue a Masters in Public Health or a PhD in Psychology.

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