Another clinically available method of abortion is a medical procedure that uses suction to remove the pregnancy from the uterus. This process is quicker, but abortion pills allow greater control over where and when someone chooses to begin the termination, says Murphy. That said, until the pandemic, there were still rules preventing the medication from being taken at home.
“We were in the ridiculous situation where women were traveling miles to come to a clinic,” she explains of the situation in the UK. “They had to swallow the pills in the clinic, then rush back home as quickly as they could to be there when the cramping began.” Conversely, women receiving the same medication for a missed miscarriage have never been required to take the pills on the spot, Murphy adds.
It was only when Covid-19 limited people’s access to in-person health care that the UK started trialing a…
