A 35-year-old Kentucky woman was arrested in late 2025, accused of taking abortion pills that she ordered online.

The gestational age and status of the pregnancy is unknown. But Kentucky, like the majority of Southern states that contain Appalachian counties, has a complete abortion ban.

Mifepristone is a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for self-administered abortion care through ten weeks’ gestation, and research suggests it is safe and effective up to 16 weeks. The abortion pill can still be ordered into states with abortion bans after the Supreme Court weighed in on the matter on May 4, 2026.

But abortion is illegal in Kentucky, and the police viewed the woman’s actions as criminal. A grand jury supported bringing charges against her, including fetal homicide, “abuse of a corpse,” and tampering with physical evidence. Her distressed mugshot was plastered all over regional news sites.

The prosecutor eventually dismissed the homicide charge because Kentucky law exempts pregnant people from being prosecuted for getting abortion care. But other charges, including concealing the birth of an infant were added.

As a social work researcher who studies access to reproductive health care in underserved Appalachian communities, I have worked with clients in similar circumstances. I have observed that many decisions to end pregnancies are motivated by intense barriers to accessing health care—not by criminal intent.

It can be extremely difficult for women in this region to get health care, and these health-care access burdens impact quality of life in the region. For example, research suggests that Appalachian women are more likely to die at younger ages when compared to women living in other regions of the U.S.

Here are six factors I consider when a case like this appears in the news.

1. Abortion bans do not stop abortion

Data clearly shows that outlawing abortion care does not stop people from getting abortions.

According to data from the Society of Family Planning’s We Count project, U.S. abortion rates have actually increased since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending federal abortion protections.

What state abortion bans do is change how people try to get care.

2. Abortion bans isolate patients from doctors

For people living in most of rural Appalachia, brick-and-mortar abortion clinics are currently only available in another state, often a great distance over rugged terrain.

The........

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