Anger over clinic bid to ‘make abortions easier’
WOMEN are being given abortions at local health clinics instead of hospitals under a controversial move to make terminations more convenient.
Hundreds of women are to be issued with the abortion pill at health centres and family planning clinics instead of having to travel to city-centre hospitals under the scheme.
The move is under way at three major health boards which insist it is safe and will make abortions ‘as easy for women as possible’.
And if the scheme is deemed a success, it could soon be rolled out across the country.
But last night, critics warned it ‘trivialises’ a potentially dangerous medical procedure, potentially putting women at risk.
Around 12,000 women a year have terminations, despite repeated attempts by the government to reduce unintended pregnancies.
Most now take place using the abortion pill – where women take two tablets over two days to end the pregnancy. Traditionally this has involved two trips to a maternity or gynaecology ward in a major hospital.
Now local family planning clinics, sexual health clinics and community hospitals are being supplied with the drugs, so that women can begin the procedure without having to go to a hospital. Women would then go home and wait for a day or two and would only have to attend hospital to take the second tablet, where they would either stay on the ward or return home for the abortion to take place.
The move is already under way in Glasgow and is being put in place in Edinburgh and Grampian.
Medical chiefs are under huge pressure to meet ambitious waiting time and financial targets and are desperate to treat as many patients as they can outwith hospitals.
A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirmed its service was being offered at a specialist sexual health clinic in the city.
She added: ‘We offer the first stage of a medical abortion from the Sandyford Clinic. This is to make things as easy for the woman as possible.’
Dr Alison McCallum, director of public health and health policy at NHS Lothian, said its plan was to supply the pills at family planning clinics.
She added: ‘NHS Lothian is planning to offer abortion assessment and early treatment for abortion from other clinical settings so that women can access services outwith our acute hospitals.’
A spokesman for NHS Grampian said it would provide the pills at local community hospitals. She added: ‘We are exploring the option of delivering the first part of medical termination in settings nearer to where women live, to reduce the number of visits into the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary site.’
The move was yesterday welcomed by Darinka Aleksic, campaign co-ordinator for the pro-choice group Abortion Rights.
She said: ‘This would simply mean women do not have to travel so far and they may be in more familiar surroundings. It makes it easier in terms of public transport, taking time off work or college or organising childcare.’
But a spokesman for the Catholic Church said: ‘An unborn child is a victim in abortion, and this could now see women becoming victims because of the health risks involved.’
And Paul Tully, of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child, said: ‘This creates more opportunity for Family Planning advocates to pressurise women to have abortions.’