The abortion industry’s “product offering” continues to evolve rapidly.
Specifically, medical abortions, also known as the “abortion pill,” continue to make up a greater portion of overall abortions.
According to the Gutmacher Institute, in the year 2017, medical abortions made up 39% of all abortions.
Following the trendline in the graph below, I think it’s fair to say that this year, the percentage will likely be greater than 50%.
Chasing Profit and Offering Convenience
According to the Guttmacher Institute, the average price for a nonhospital abortion with local anesthesia at 10 weeks of gestation is $508, versus the average price of a medical abortion up to nine weeks of gestation which is $535.
Now I don’t know an abortion facility’s exact operating costs for providing an abortion procedure versus the cost of offering a medical abortion, but I don’t think I would be going too far out on a limb to say that the medical abortion likely costs the abortion facility significantly less, meaning that a medical abortion is more profitable for them.
In addition, putting aside the discussion of medical risks of either a surgical abortion or a medical abortion, from a purely marketing perspective, it seems obvious to me that most young women would find the option of the medical abortion more attractive than the surgical abortion.
From a woman’s perspective, a medical abortion is much more convenient, and private.
Skate To Where the Puck is Going To Be
NHL Legend Wayne Gretzky once said, “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
Successful product marketers follow this same philosophy – trying to understand what their customers will want in the future, in order to start developing, right now, products that will successfully meet their customers’ desires.
From a competitive perspective, the abortion industry’s shift toward medical abortion is worrisome for the Pro-Life Business Industry for two reasons.
First, medical abortions can be used for almost 90% of all abortions.
The “abortion pill” must be used for first trimester abortions (up to 12 weeks), and according to the CDC, 88% of all abortions occur during the first trimester.
So broadly speaking, 88% of abortions are eligible for the abortion pill.
Second, the “convenience” of the abortion pill makes it much easier to “bring an abortion to the woman,” instead of the woman having to travel to a limited number of abortion facilities.
To better understand how this dynamic is starting to play out, I invite you to carefully read this article from the Los Angeles Times describing California’s Senate Bill 24 which will go into effect in 2023:
Effectively, the bill requires public universities in California to offer students the abortion pill, on campus.
Tomorrow, we will explore where this trend of “bringing an abortion to the woman” by way of the abortion pill could lead, and what it means for the Pro-Life Business Industry.
Regards,
Brett