Abortion pill's Canadian launch delayed by lack of coverage, distribution rules

Kelly Grant - HEALTH REPORTER
The Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Mar. 01, 2017

The Canadian launch of the abortion pill is proceeding more slowly than expected, with only five abortion clinics and a handful of big-city pharmacies across the country ordering the medication since its debut in January.

Abortion providers say confusion over distribution rules and a lack of public drug coverage are partly behind the sluggish introduction of Mifegymiso, a $300 pill combination that supporters hope will eventually make it easier for rural and small-town women to end their unwanted pregnancies.

“It’s been terribly slow,” Ellen Wiebe, the medical director of the Willow Women’s Clinic in Vancouver, said of the abortion pill’s roll-out. “We’re the big customer. That shouldn’t be. It should be all over the country.”

Continued at source: Globe & Mail: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/abortion-pills-canadian-launch-delayed-by-lack-of-coverage-distribution-rules/article34181063/