Top medics call for change to rules on home abortions

♦ Women in England should be allowed to take pills to induce an abortion at home without the supervision of a doctor, the UK’S top reproductive medics have said.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says current rules forcing women to visit a clinic or hospital to undergo an early medical termination effectively “punish” those seeking legal abortion.

They are urging the Health Secretary to change the rules to bring England in line with Wales and Scotland, where the procedure is allowed at home.

An estimated one in three women have an abortion before the age of 45, most of which take place in early pregnancy when a medical, druginduced termination is most effective.