BPAS seeks ruling that women should be allowed to administer final dose of tablets for early medical abortion themselves
The high court is due to rule on Monday in a landmark case that could make it easier for women to complete abortions at home.
At present, women take two doses of tablets for an early medical abortion, both of which must be taken in a clinic or hospital under medical supervision. Most women go straight home after taking the second dose, and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) argues they face anxiety about when the subsequent abortion will occur.
The country's largest abortion provider is seeking a ruling that under the 1967 Abortion Act women should be allowed to administer the second dose themselves.
Nathalie Lieven QC, representing BPAS, argued at a recent hearing that advances in medical science meant it was now safe for women to do so.
Mr Justice Supperstone will decide whether the law supports such a move or whether, as the government argues, it requires all tablets to be administered on clinical premises.
Countries including the US, France and Sweden already allow women to complete terminations at home without having to go back to hospital. The BPAS argues that the UK should follow their lead, but opponents accuse the organisation of attempting to make abortion "little more than a pill-popping exercise".
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) said BPAS was trying to bypass clear statutory procedures put in place to determine where abortions might take place.
Approximately 70,000 early medical abortions (EMA) were carried out below nine weeks in England and Wales in 2009, accounting for about half of all early abortions that year.
EMA can be administered in the first nine weeks of gestation. Women take one mifepristone tablet and are told to return to the clinic 24 to 48 hours later. On the second visit they take a further four tablets, and typically one to two hours later a miscarriage begins with cramping and bleeding ? although it can begin earlier.
The abortion is usually complete within four to six hours. BPAS argues that women ? some of whom may have to travel long distances, perhaps on public transport ? face unnecessary worry about when the bleeding will begin after the second dose.
The legal battle between BPAS and the health department comes after a decade-long negotiations broke down. The Abortion Act states that "any treatment for the termination of pregnancy" must be carried out by a "registered medical practitioner", and the judge will rule whether that must cover both the prescription and administration of the drugs used in abortions.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/13/high-court-abortions-home
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