From the 1st of August, there are new changes to access to abortion pills.
Medical abortions can now be prescribed without specialist certification by all GPs, pharmacists and some nurses.
Medical abortion is when is given a prescribed tablet instead of going to a medical facility for unwanted pregnancies or miscarriages under nine weeks.
The pill costs $40 compared to a few hundred dollars for a surgical abortion. In many ways, this is good news for women’s health but a bunch of safety concerns have been raised by some doctors who fear they are not being taken seriously enough.
“My gut feeling, I’m afraid, is that this is a political ploy to be seen to be doing something to increase access to services to people in underprivileged areas. While I think that’s a good thing, the solution they have put forward to me appears to be just a political one, not a health-based one.”
Dr Gino Pecoraro, President of National Association Specialist Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
In this episode of The Briefing, we speak with Dr Gino Pecoraro and The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Nicole Higgins.
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