Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help prevent abortion drugs sent in the mail from being used to commit crimes.

Before an early medical abortion can be undertaken at home, a consultation is held with the woman requesting the termination. Women are given the choice to have either an in-person consultation or a virtual consultation. If the medical practitioner has any concerns during a virtual consultation, the woman will be asked to attend a clinic for an in-person consultation.

The prescription of mifepristone and misoprostol for abortions is controlled by the Abortion Act 1967 and the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. During the consultation, women are informed that it is illegal to give their prescribed abortion medication to anyone else.