Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of safeguards to ensure that medical abortion pills sent to women by post without an in-person consultation are taken within the legal limit of ten weeks’ gestation.

The Department continues to carefully monitor the impact of and compliance with the temporary approval of home administration of both sets of abortion medication. Officials have regular meetings with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Care Quality Commission and abortion service providers to ensure the appropriate safeguards are in place to protect women accessing this service.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has issued clinical guidelines for healthcare professionals on ‘Coronavirus infection and abortion care’. The guidance sets out the circumstances where women should be asked to attend a clinic for an ultra-sound scan. However, it states that “most women can determine the gestational age of their pregnancy with reasonable accuracy by last menstrual period (LMP) alone”. The Royal College’s guidance includes a decision aid for clinicians to use to help determine if an ultra-sound scan is required. This includes detailed questions to identify gestational age.