“We’ve got rights and yet we don’t have access”: Exploring patient experiences accessing medication abortion in Australia

“We have to make sure you meet certain criteria”: exploring patient experiences of the criminalisation of abortion in Australia

“…The data collected for this study aimed to document the experiences of patients across Australia using the drug mifepristone, which is commonly used for medication abortion. 10 The influence of the legal status of abortion on patient experiences became apparent early on during data collection. This paper focuses specifically on this emergent finding.…”

Increasing access to women’s sexual and reproductive health services: telehealth is only the start

“…It seems incongruous that, although almost half of all general practitioners are women 1 and abortion has been decriminalised in every state and territory in Australia, access to sexual and reproductive health services, including for abortion, 2 contraception 3 and menopause management, 4 remains difficult for many women. Further, profound disparities in women’s sexual reproductive health care persist, with women in rural or socio‐economically disadvantaged areas, younger women, those who have experienced violence, and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds all having poorer outcomes 5,6 …”

Telehealth: an opportunity to increase access to early medical abortion for Australian women

“…Many women are also unaware of the availability of EMA and the current gestational limit of 63 days . They also face difficulties navigating the health system to find an EMA provider, particularly when they encounter conscientious objections . Women can also face other barriers such as needing to travel to access services, take time off work or find childcare, and many need to source financial support to meet the costs …”

“…Using telehealth to deliver EMA offers an opportunity to address many of the barriers to EMA provision in Australia. It removes the necessity for proximity between the provider and patient, an issue of particular importance for women living in rural and regional areas where there are fewer abortion providers . The need to travel to appointments far from home, especially when more than one appointment might be required, can result in women moving past the 9‐week gestational limit and preclude them from being able to undergo an EMA .…”

“…It removes the necessity for proximity between the provider and patient, an issue of particular importance for women living in rural and regional areas where there are fewer abortion providers . The need to travel to appointments far from home, especially when more than one appointment might be required, can result in women moving past the 9‐week gestational limit and preclude them from being able to undergo an EMA . Not only does the telehealth delivery of EMA reduce the need for patients to travel but it also increases the capacity of existing providers to deliver services to women from a larger geographical area …”