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 12 May 2008 17:29 BST

'Community' abortions considered

Thursday, 08 May 2008 11:44
Early medical abortions can be carried out up to nine weeks
Medical professionals and patients are to be consulted on whether early medical abortions (EMAs) should be made available in non-hospital settings.

The consultation follows a pilot study which found that EMAs carried out in large contraceptive centres and community hospitals could offer a safe and high quality service for women.

EMAs use drugs to cause an early miscarriage up to nine weeks of pregnancy.

The pilot study found that some women welcomed the informality and increased availability of staff support associated with EMA away from hospitals.

Public health minister Dawn Primarolo said it is the government's priority to reduce the time women have to wait for an abortion.

She claims considerable progress in achieving this has been made, as 65 per cent of women have their abortions under ten weeks compared to just 51 per cent in 2002.

"We want to investigate whether patients can be more comfortable and feel as supported in a less clinical setting such as in a large community contraceptive centre," Ms Primarolo said.

"However, the safety of patients must remain paramount and we will now consult with the local NHS and patients to find out whether there is a demand for such a service and how it could best be delivered."

The Family Planning Association (FPA) said it welcomed the results of the study and described EMA as a "very safe and effective method".

FPA chief executive Julie Bentley said the pilot study into EMA showed that "abortion services have the capacity to be far more responsive to the needs of women using them".

"FPA's own study and international research shows that women want an opportunity to decide where they have an abortion and what method they use," she added.

"Calls to our helpline illustrate the real difficulty some women have getting to abortion services so the easier and more accessible they are the better.

"Other countries like France and the USA already provide early medical abortion in far different places to Britain. We would like to see the Department of Health invest in the type of abortion services that have proved so successful in the pilot."
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