Abortion pills will become more accessible in Australia under a new framework that will ease the restrictions on who can prescribe and dispense them.The Therapeutic Goods Administration announced on Tuesday that doctors and nurses who prescribe the pregnancy termination pill known as MS-2 Step mifepristone, and the chemists dispensing the medicine, will no longer need to receive extra certification. The TGA will also remove the requirement for GPs to undertake mandatory training and special registration every three years.Under the new rules, which come into effect on August 1, the abortion pill will be as accessible as any other prescription medicine. Experts have welcomed the news as a significant step forward because, though legal, abortions in Australia may not be as accessible as most people think and the barriers pregnant people face to reproductive healthcare are far to tall.Abortion laws are written by state and territory governments and in all jurisdictions medical abortions with pills are legal up to 63 days, or nine weeks, from gestation, but only with a prescription from a certified doctor. For surgical abortions, which cost thousands of dollars, the limit can vary from 16 to 24 weeks in Victoria, before further approvals from doctors or medical bodies are legally required.In WA, abortions outside the legal window actually fall under the criminal code – the only jurisdiction where illegal abortions can be criminally prosecuted. Currently in Australia, just one in 10 GPs are prescribers of the abortion drug MS-2 Step, and three in 10 chemists carry it. This means about 30 per cent of Australians with uteruses have no access to local providers of abortion care. In remote areas, it’s even fewer – only about half can access treatment locally. “As a GP in a regional centre, I know all too well that there are significant barriers to reproductive care in rural and remote areas. These services are vital, and they must be affordable and accessible for everyone who needs them,” The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners President Dr Nicole Higgins said on Tuesday. The RACGP made a submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee inquiry into universal access to reproductive healthcare in December, calling for wider access through a variety of avenues, including the removal of these restrictions. “GPs are often the first port of call for people seeking support for unplanned pregnancy because they know and trust their GP, and more so in rural communities where the local GP is often the only health service available,” Higgins said.“Access to safe medical or surgical abortion services for women is part of a holistic approach to reproductive health. This is essential, regardless of a woman’s income or where she lives.”Following the final report from the Senate Committee inquiry Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care Ged Kearney said the Federal Government welcomed the changes that “remove red tape and improve equitable access to healthcare for all Australians”.“We know that women experience structural barriers trying to access the health care that they need, particularly in regional and rural areas. That’s why it’s so important that all health practitioners can perform the care that they are already trained to provide,” she said.
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