Controversy over home abortions
Experts reveal today that it is safe for woment to perform their own medical abortions at home.
At present, women can take two tablets under medical supervision up till they are nine weeks pregnant to abort the pregnancy. The two pills, called mifepristone and misoprostol are not licensed to be used in the home and the second drug can only be given by a registered medical professional.
Many associations are backing a change to the current abortion laws even though the department of health said there were no plans to change the law.
The Royal College of Nursing and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists say more research is needed but laws need to change in order for home abortions to be accepted. The British Medical Association has suggested that laws requiring women to have two signatures from doctors should be changed for those wishing to have an early abortion.
Julia Millington of the ProLife Alliance said: "With abortion virtually on demand in the UK and annual figures escalating, how extraordinary that the major concern of the pro-choice lobby is the abolition of the doctors' role in the consultation process, plus increased use of self-administered medical abortion."
In opposition to this view, Rebecca Findlay, spokeswoman for the FPA (Family Planning Clinic), said: "Giving British women the option to choose whether to have the second stage of a medical abortion in the safety and quiet of their own home, a common practise in other countries, will make an enormous difference to women's experiences of having an abortion."
The Royal College of Nursing said the law should be changed to allow nurses to prescribe the medication needed to carry out early medical abortions.
Thanks to BBC online services, 12/10/07
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Last Modified: 12/10/2007
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I agree with cazza2babe, while id prefere if people didnt get abortions, it would be alot easier for the woman if she was in the comfort of her own home rather than be in a hospital around people she bearly knows. x
i believe that if you don't want a child then don't get pregnant, simple as that. abortion should only be used in extreme circumstances eg. if the mother is is ill and being pregnant would prevent treatment or the baby is severly disabled and would have no life if born. too many people use abortion as contreception and it is so unfair. thousands of woman cann't have children and the thought of someone having an abortion just because they don't want a child disgusts me.
I am not necessarily for or against abortion, I think it is a huge decision for a woman to make and it all depends on her circumstances at the time. I think that having abortions available is a good thing because everyone should have different options, but I don't know if I could go through it myself. However, I am unsure on this whole abortion at home thing. I agree with the person above in that being in the comfort of your own home with people who support you must be a lot better than being in a hospital...but what if you didn't have people to support you? What if you had to go through the whole ordeal yourself? If I were to have an abortion, I would rather have it in the hands of caring professionals who could help me through the whole thing incase I were to have physical or mental issues during or after.
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