It took two trips over state lines, navigating icy roads and a patchwork of state laws, for a 32-year-old South Dakota woman to get abortion pills last year.Related video above: Harris: Women's rights in America 'under attack'For abortion-seekers like her, such journeys, along with pills sent through the mail, will grow in importance if the Supreme Court follows through with its leaked draft opinion that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision and allow individual states to ban the procedure. The woman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because she was concerned for her family's safety, said the abortion pills allowed her to end an unexpected and high-risk pregnancy and remain devoted to her two children.But anti-abortion activists and politicians say those cross-border trips, remote doctors' consultations and pill deliveries are what they will try to stop next."Medication abortion will be where access to abortion is decided," said Mary Ziegler, a professor at Florida State University College of Law who specializes in reproductive rights. "That's going to be the battleground that decides how enforceable abortion bans are."Use of abortion pills has been rising in the U.S. since 2000 when the Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone — the main drug used in medication abortions. More than half of U.S. abortions are now done with pills, rather than surgery, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.The FDA last year lifted a long-standing requirement that women pick up abortion pills in person. Mail delivery is also now allowed nationwide.Those moves have spurred online services that offer information on getting abortion pills and consultations to get a prescription. After the woman in South Dakota found that the state's only abortion clinic could not schedule her in time for a medication abortion, she found an online service, called Just The Pill, that advised her to drive across to Minnesota for a phone consultation with a doctor. A week later, she came back to Minnesota for the pills.She took the first one almost immediately in her car, then cried as she drove home."I felt like I lost a pregnancy," she said. "I love my husband and I love my children and I knew exactly what I had to say goodbye to and that was a really horrible thing to have to do."South Dakota is among several states, including Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, Ohio, Tennessee and Oklahoma, where Republicans have moved to restrict access to abortion pills in recent months. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said additional, in-person visits for the pills and a ban on them being sent through the mail are needed to protect women and save "unborn children." A total of 19 states require a medical clinician to be physically present when abortion pills are given to a patient.Besides crossing state lines, women can also turn to internationally-based online pharmacies, said Greer Donley, a professor specializing in reproductive health care at the University of Pittsburgh Law School. Some women also are having prescribed pills forwarded through states without restrictions."It allows for someone to have an abortion without a direct role of a provider. It's going to be much harder for states to control abortion access," she said, adding, "The question is how is it going to be enforced?"Sue Leibel, the state policy director for Susan B. Anthony List, a prominent organization opposed to abortion, acknowledged it's an issue that "has crept up" on Republican state lawmakers."This is a new frontier and states are grappling with enforcement mechanisms," she said, adding, "The advice that I always give — if you shut the front door, the pills are going to come in the back door."Abortion opponents maintain they have no intention of prosecuting women who seek abortions. Instead, Leibel suggested the next target for state enforcement should be the pharmacies, organizations and clinics that provide the abortion pills. She also said abortion-rights opponents should focus on electing a presidential candidate who would work to reverse the FDA's decision.The FDA said a scientific review supported broadening access to the drugs and found complications were rare. The agency has reported 26 deaths associated with the drug since 2000, though not all of those can be directly attributed to the medication due to existing health conditions and other factors.However, with new legal battles on the horizon and abortion seekers going to greater lengths to obtain the procedure, Donley, the law school professor, worried that state lawmakers may eventually turn their attention toward the women who get the pills."Many anti-abortion legislators might realize the only way to enforce these laws is to prosecute the pregnant person themselves," she said.

A pill that could potentially treat COVID-19 is a "game-changer," but experts are emphasizing that it's not an alternative to vaccinations — which remain the most effective path to ending the coronavirus pandemic if enough people get their shots.Yet, the average number of people getting vaccinated — at 270,531 per day— is the lowest it's been since Aug. 15, according to Friday's data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A little over 65% of the eligible population is fully vaccinated, the data shows.At the same time, the U.S. hit a grim milestone Friday by surpassing 700,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University's data. The U.S. tops the world for COVID-19 deaths, followed by Brazil with nearly 600,000 fatalities, according to the data.The news from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics on Friday that they created an antiviral pill that can reduce COVID-19 hospitalization and death by 50% was hailed by health experts, although they cautioned it wasn't a replacement for vaccinations."This can be used in conjunction with the vaccine. And it's not an alternative to vaccination. We still have to try to get more people vaccinated," Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, told CNN on Friday.Gottlieb acknowledged that the antiviral medicine could be effective for those who choose not to get vaccinated as well as those who catch the virus while fully vaccinated."This is the most impactful result that I remember seeing of an orally available drug in the treatment of a respiratory pathogen, perhaps ever," Gottlieb told CNN. "I think getting an oral pill that can inhibit viral replication — that can inhibit this virus — is going to be a real game-changer."Merck said Friday it will seek FDA emergency use authorization for its molnupiravir medication "as soon as possible." If permitted, it would become the first oral medicine that fights viral infection for COVID-19."If approved, I think the right way to think about this is this is a potential additional tool in our toolbox to protect people from the worst outcomes of COVID," White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said Friday.Zients echoed Gottlieb's stance on vaccination, underscoring inoculation remains "far and away our best tool against COVID-19" because the shots can prevent people from getting infected in the first place."And we want to prevent infections, not just wait to treat them once they happen," Zients said.Meanwhile, Louisiana reported Friday that a child at or under the age of four died from COVID-19. It was the state's 17th pediatric death from the virus."We owe it to ourselves, our children and everyone around us to take advantage of the best protection we have, and that is the vaccine and wearing a mask," Louisiana State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter said.Th delta variant of the coronavirus has made child infections much more common than during the onset of the pandemic.More booster talks to comeAmericans who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines can expect to hear next steps for booster shots this month.The FDA will meet with its Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee on Oct. 14 and 15 to discuss those boosters for those vaccines, which have only been authorized for emergency use in those 18 and older. The committee will also consider data on "mix and match" use of boosters, the agency said Friday.Only Pfizer's COVID-19 two-dose vaccine has been fully approved by the FDA for people 12 and older. Pfizer's booster shot is authorized for emergency use in people 65 and older, people at high risk of severe disease and people whose jobs put them at risk of infection.More than 4.03 million people have received an additional dose of COVID-19 vaccine — or booster — since Aug. 13. The FDA vaccine committee is also slated to discuss Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 on Oct. 26. Pfizer has started submitting data about this age group to the agency but has not yet formally requested emergency use authorization.The committee of independent advisers typically discusses and makes recommendations to the FDA on vaccine authorizations and approvals. Then, the agency makes the final decision.Vaccine mandates continue coming into playAs federal health officials consider booster shots, vaccine mandates are being implemented more widely — and some are not happy with the move.On Friday, American Airlines told its U.S. workers that they must follow the Biden administration's requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The airline noted that its business with the federal government means it will be covered under the mandate but fell short of saying when the requirement takes effect.Religious and disability-related exemptions will be available, but there will be no "provision of a regular testing alternative," the airline said."While we are still working through the details of the federal requirements, it is clear that team members who choose to remain unvaccinated will not be able to work at American Airlines," according to a memo CNN obtained from the airline management sent to employees.Meanwhile, Ochsner Health in Louisiana said it will charge employees enrolled in their upcoming 2022 health care benefits a fee for spouses and domestic partners who are not vaccinated against COVID-19."This is not a mandate as non-employed spouses and domestic partners can choose to select a health plan outside of Ochsner Health offerings. As with our employee vaccination policy, spouses and domestic partners with medical and religious objections will be able to file exemption requests," Ochsner Health President and CEO Warner Thomas said in a statement this week.