Dr C’s check-up
There are calls for women to be allowed to take early abortion pills at home to avoid miscarrying in public. Dr C agrees wholeheartedly
The president T of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists has said that having to take early medical abortion tablets at a doctor’s office or clinic puts women at risk of suffering bleeding or complications after leaving the clinic, and that they should be allowed to take the second pill in the comfort and privacy of their own home. I completely agree.
MORE COMFORTABLE
The first tablet blocks progesterone, which is needed to maintain the pregnancy; the second is inserted into the vagina, to help the uterus contract and bring on an abortion. It’s no more difficult than doing your own swab at a sexual health clinic or inserting a tampon, so women are perfectly capable and it would save them time, stress, embarrassment and the horrors of potentially miscarrying in public. Women can start bleeding heavily after just two hours, so that’s entirely possible.
It’s obviously a very unpleasant thing to have to go through, so why shouldn’t we make it a little more comfortable? It’s perfectly safe, and although there are a few side effects, it’s nothing a nurse or doctor would need to monitor.
TIME FOR PROGRESS
The current approach is backward, which is true of many aspects of female health, and it needs to change. If we want to save our NHS, we ought to allow patients to do things like this at home – because they can.
In Scotland, the law has already changed, however, the Society For The Protection of Unborn Children has presented a legal challenge, saying it amounts to legalising “backroom abortions”. That kind of moral judgement is untrue and it holds back progress. It’s similar to people saying that access to the morning-after pill makes women more promiscuous, or that giving children sex education means they’ll all get pregnant. All the evidence shows that the opposite is actually true.
CLEAR SOLUTION
This isn’t a moral question, but a medical one, and the solution is clear. Nobody has questioned this dated practice in years, but it’s well overdue a change and it’s good to see someone in authority speaking up. I would support the change completely.