Women having an early medical abortion should be allowed to take some of their pills at home, a charity says.
A change in the law is being sought by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) so that women can have the choice of where they complete their treatment. They currently have to make two visits and are prescribed pills each time.
However, The Department of Health is against this change, which would bring England, Scotland and Wales into line with other European countries including Sweden and France.
Early medical abortions involve taking two sets of tablets. These are taken 1 to 2 days apart in order to induce a miscarriage. They are available to women who want an abortion in the first nine weeks of pregnancy.
Ann Furedi of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: "It's a matter of women's choice"
In other countries, both sets of pills are given on one visit and women are then given instructions about when they should take the second set. BPAS said giving women both sets of pills at once would mean women could control where the abortion actually takes place, and could be sure that they would not experience cramping and bleeding on the way home from their appointments.
The charity is challenging whether the legal definition of "treatment" for abortion covers both the prescription and the administration of medication. A BPAS survey found that 86% of women would prefer to complete an early medical abortion at home.
Prescription or Administration?This legal challenge only applies to England, Wales and Scotland. Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland unless the pregnant woman's life is in danger. Under the 1967 Abortion Act, treatment must be given in a hospital or clinic. The charity's main argument is that treatment covers the prescription of the pills - but not necessarily their administration.
If the court agrees, then abortion clinics would be able to give women both sets of pills at once. The Department of Health is contesting the case, on the grounds that "treatment" covers both prescription and administration of the drugs.
The Tory MP Nadine Dorries also opposes the charity's challenge, claiming it would send out a message that you can use abortion as contraception. and that young girls having early medical abortions would feel isolated and frightened.
"They're assuming that everybody who takes a second pill travels home to a clean comfortable environment where there will be a telephone and support, maybe a kind person to help someone through that procedure, " she said, "(but) that doesn't apply to every case.
"Many of these girls will be very young, very frightened and very alone."
However, the charity said that women would still be offered a choice and could choose to go back to the clinic to take their second set of tablets if they so wished.
In 2009, around 70,000 women in England and Wales had early medical abortions, which was around 48% of all women wanting abortion before nine weeks. There were 6,500 early medical abortions in Scotland.
13 January 2011 | 
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