Before the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the right to an abortion in Roe v. Wade, a lot of women and girls died trying to end their pregnancies themselves. How many is impossible to know.

Since our current court overturned Roe, women are once again dying, as ProPublica has reported. But not in numbers anywhere near those of pre-Roe deaths from self-administered abortion. Then, as one doctor explained, “‘wire coat hangers, knitting needles, and slippery tree branches’ were the most common approaches.”

The vastly lower mortality post-Roe is the result of a number of factors, including there still being states where abortion is legal to travel to, along with abortion funds and internet forums helping people get there.

But the biggest reason we aren’t seeing more deaths from self-managed ab

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