Confidential helpline launched to advise women who buy illegal abortion pills online
Author: Dr. Helen O’Neill
A free service has been set up by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) to provide aftercare advice for women living in Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man. Due to the severely restricted and illegal access to abortion services in these regions, thousands of women are forced to travel each year to England to undergo terminations of pregnancies. For many, however, this is not an option and they turn to the internet for alternatives. For as little as £50, illegal abortion medication can be bought on the internet.
The abortion pill can be taken during the early stages (up to nine weeks) of pregnancy. It is made up of two parts: mifepristone, which detaches the pregnancy from the uterus lining; and misoprostol, which makes the womb contract and causes bleeding, similar to a miscarriage.
BPAS currently charges £545 for the abortion pill, and price goes up to £1,725 for late abortions (it offers a discount for Irish women). Those who receive the treatment typically go home to pass the pregnancy and can then call the 24-hour BPAS helpline with questions or concerns.
The helpline will be extended to women who have purchased abortion pills online – from non-profit clinics such as Women Help Women or Women on the Web who the organisation say “provide the same high quality, safe medications to women who are up to 10 weeks pregnant that are provided from BPAS clinics”.
These pills are the only two it sanctions as ‘a safe, effective alternative’, but because they have been bought illegally, women are very often are too scared to speak to someone or seek medical advice for fear of the consequences.
Chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Ann Furedi, said: “What these women really need are accessible, high quality abortion services at home. They shouldn’t have to make the choice between travelling to England and breaking the law by purchasing pills online. While we wait for politicians to do the right thing, BPAS will provide telephone aftercare to women who have bought pills online from these two women’s organisations and who want to speak to someone in confidence about what they are experiencing, or who simply need a reassuring voice at the end of the line. We will be here for these women 24 hours a day until they no longer need us.”
It is appalling that any woman should be in fear for her health and be forced to purchase medication on the internet because of the illegality of abortion. Time to put pressure on the Irish Government, not on other resources which accommodate this injustice. A UN committee has previously ruled that the abortion law in the Republic of Ireland was a violation of women’s rights.
Read more:
https://www.bpas.org/abortion-care/considering-abortion/prices/
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Abortion/Pages/How-is-it-performed.aspx
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