Abortion: Drugs

(asked on 2nd June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards are in place to ensure that mifepristone and misoprostol are only prescribed for medical abortions at home where women are less than 10 weeks pregnant; and what plans they have, if any, to reconsider allowing such treatment to be prescribed without seeing a clinician in person.


Answered by
Lord Bethell Portrait
Lord Bethell
This question was answered on 15th June 2020

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) 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 RCOG guidance has recently been updated and now includes a decision aid for clinicians to use to help determine if an ultra-sound scan is required.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends in their guidance Abortion Care that services should consider providing abortion assessments by phone or video call, as evidence shows that community services and telemedicine appointments improve access to abortion services. Abortion providers will discuss possible complications with the woman in the consultation, and women will be provided with information about possible symptoms, including those which would necessitate urgent review. Copies of these guidance are attached.

It is a legal requirement for two doctors to certify that there are grounds for an abortion before treatment can proceed unless an emergency situation has arisen.

The approval to allow women to take both sets of pills for early medical abortion at home is on a temporary basis only and is limited for two years, or until the COVID-19 pandemic is over. It is not permanent.

Reticulating Splines