Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure that abortion pills sent to patients by post without an in-person consultation are taken by the patient for whom they were intended.

Women seeking an abortion should be informed during the consultation process that medical abortion is a two-stage process which requires the administration of Mifepristone followed by Misoprostol to successfully complete the procedure. If a woman is eligible to receive both abortion pills at home under the provisions of the temporary approval currently in place, providers should supply medicines obtained through a regulated supply chain, appropriately labelled for individual patients to be safely used only by those patients.

Abortion providers should provide women with information on what to do with the pills if they choose not to take them after they have been received, such as returning pills to a pharmacy, clinic or general practitioner for safe disposal. Supply of abortion medication outside of the provisions of the temporary approval is unlawful.