Green light to take abortion pills at home
TENS of thousands of women will soon be allowed to terminate their pregnancies at home.
It means they can take the second of two pills needed to end an early pregnancy there and not in a clinic.
Last year more than 110,000 women in England underwent an early abortion for pregnancies of between three and nine weeks.
Women in Scotland and Wales can already do so. England will follow suit by the end of this year.
The Government said clinical and legal advice is clear that the homeuse of abortion pills is safe.
Under the current system, women must take both pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, 24-48 hours apart in a clinic to end an early pregnancy before the 10-week mark.
Women leave the clinic after taking the second pill anyway.
Campaigners say the two visits can be hard to organise and often uncomfortable or traumatic, with some women even beginning to miscarry before reaching home.
Professor Lesley Regan, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said it was a “major step forward”.
“This simple and practical measure will provide women with significantly more choice and is the most compassionate care we can give them.
“It will allow women to avoid distress and embarrassment of bleeding and pain during their journey home from an unnecessary second visit to a clinic or hospital.
“It will also improve access to safe and regulated abortion care and take pressure off NHS services.”
Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, added: “Abortion can be a difficult experience so it is important that women feel safe and as comfortable as possible.
“This decision will increase choice for women and help ensure they receive safe and dignified care.”
And Ann Furedi, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: “We are delighted by this decision, which represents an outbreak of common sense.
“Bpas has long campaigned for this simple, evidence-based measure, which is standard practice across the world and endorsed by the World Health Organization.
“Enabling women to use this medication at home rather than being forced to take it in a clinic means women will no longer risk pain and bleeding as they travel home after taking it, and means they can use it at the time that is right for them, when they are safe and comfortable in the privacy of their own homes.”
The Department of Health and Social Care said it will work with bodies, including the RCOG, to develop clinical guidance that professionals will be expected to follow when providing the treatment.
Women meeting the criteria will have to attend a clinic to take the first pill, mifepristone. They will then have the option of being discharged home to self-administer the second pill, misoprostol, but they will still be given the choice of attending a clinic if they prefer.
Government statistics show that four in five terminations are early medical abortions, carried out at 10 weeks – meaning most women seeking abortions soon will be given the home-use option.