In the UK, providers of abortion services must comply with the Required Standard Operating Procedures (“the RSOPs”) set out in this document issued by the Department of Health and Social Care. RSOP12 details the information which must be provided to the woman, and how: Women must be given impartial, accurate and evidence-based information (verbal and written)... Continue Reading →
How the pandemic revolutionised abortion access in the UK.
This is my response to an article in the New Statesman on December 15th, 2020. My main concern is the assertion that abortion has become safer since the introduction of telemedicine in April. The article states that there has been just one complication in more than 23,000 abortions at home, and that is clearly wrong,... Continue Reading →
Less than half choose pills by post.
Since government approval was granted for telemedicine abortion at home, less than half of all eligible women have chosen, or were offered, the option of pills by post. There are more women still visiting abortion clinics than those using telemedicine. On March 30th, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 lockdown and the ensuing difficulties facing... Continue Reading →
Campaigning for women to attend abortion clinics.
I was recently asked: “…do we really want women to spend more time in the care of abortion providers? Why would we campaign for that?” This was asked in the context of the public consultation into the ‘Future Arrangements For Early Medical Abortion at Home’, currently being conducted in Scotland. My answer is unequivocal: “Yes,... Continue Reading →
Care at home – the reality behind the hashtag.
#CareAtHome is being used by many on Twitter lobbying for the provision of telemedicine abortion in Northern Ireland. #CareAtHome – sounds so nice, who wouldn’t want it, but what’s the reality behind the hashtag? I suppose #CareInMyBathroom or #CareOnMyToilet doesn’t have the same appeal. Realities of abortion at home. On 28 May, the Daily Mail published a... Continue Reading →
Women on Web in Poland.
In November 2018, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Great Britain) published a study into the safety and acceptability of medical abortion through telemedicine provided by Women on Web in Poland. This study noted: a lack of certainty in the self-reporting of gestational age; an increasing need for surgical intervention as GA increased; and... Continue Reading →