US media outlets went beyond decrying a draft Supreme Court ruling that would strike down the constitutional protection of abortion rights. Vice News went so far as to promote a video explaining how to make do-it-yourself abortion pills with an active ingredient that is also used to treat ulcers in horses.
The drug, misoprostol, “is relatively easy to acquire from veterinary sources,” Vice’s Motherboard account said on Tuesday in a Twitter post promoting the article. The article linked to a 17-minute instructional video produced by an “anarchist collective” and briefly explained the process for making the DIY pills.
While acknowledging that it couldn’t speak to the safety of taking DIY abortion pills, Vice touted misoprostol’s efficacy in terminating pregnancies and defended the idea of offering such instructions. “In a progressive and just world, abortions would be free and safely administered by medical professionals,” the article said. “But we have seen time and time again that attacks on abortion access lead to less safe abortion alternatives performed by a patient themselves or without medical supervision.”
The article was just one of the more extreme media responses to a draft Supreme Court ruling that was leaked on Monday night to another outlet, Politico. The ruling, which was confirmed as authentic by Chief Justice John Roberts on Tuesday, would overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that found abortion to be a constitutional right. If the ruling is officially made this summer, as expected, it would leave abortion rights up to state governments to decide for their own jurisdictions.