Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the evidential basis is for suspending early medical abortion at home services in the context of evidence from clinical bodies and peer review studies which have found that service to be safe and effective.

The Government’s view is that the provision of early medical abortion should return to pre-COVID-19 arrangements. We have been clear that the approval was put in place on 30 March 2020 to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and ensure continued access to abortion services. This was made on a temporary basis and was time limited for two years, or when the temporary Coronavirus Act 2020 provisions end.

Due to the success the national vaccination programme and having fully considered all the responses to the consultation, we have decided that face to face services should resume.