Online Abortion Service Women on Web: a vital alternative
May 17th, 2017
A new scientific study published today in the BMJ shows that telemedical abortions are highly effective.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Texas in Austin, Princeton University and the University of Edinburgh. They looked at the data of 1,000 women in Ireland and Northern Ireland who used the service of Women on Web. Women on Web is an online service of telemedicine initiated ten years ago by Women on Waves. Women living in countries where access to safe abortions is restricted can use it to access information and be referred to a medical doctor to receive a medical abortion.
For more information about Women on Web: +31624195506 or info@womenonwaves.org
Press release by BMJ:
Online abortion service offers vital alternative to unsafe methods to end pregnancy
Results support growing calls for reform of highly restrictive abortion laws
Early medical abortion using
online telemedicine offers a highly effective alternative to unsafe methods to end a pregnancy for women in countries where access to safe abortion is restricted, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
The findings, based on reports from women living in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland where abortion laws are among the most restrictive in the world, show that rates of adverse events are low and that women are able to identify potentially serious complications and seek medical attention when advised.
The results provide the best safety evidence to date for self sourced medical abortion through telemedicine - and have important implications for millions of women worldwide, say the researchers.
About a quarter of the world's population lives in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws. Globally, each year an estimated 43,000 women die as a result of lack of access to safe legal abortion services through their countries' formal healthcare systems. Millions more have complications.
Yet little is known about the safety and effectiveness of medical abortion provided through online clinics.
So a team of international researchers led by Abigail Aiken at the University of Texas, analysed self reported outcome data submitted to a
telemedicine clinic by 1,000 women four weeks after receiving and using the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol to end an early pregnancy.
Almost 95% reported successfully ending their pregnancy. Seven women (0.7%) reported receiving a blood transfusion and 26 (2.6%) reported receiving antibiotics. No deaths were reported.
Ninety three women (9.3%) reported experiencing any symptom for which they were advised to seek medical attention and, of these 87 (95%) sought attention.
None of the five women who did not seek medical attention reported experiencing an adverse outcome.
The researchers highlight some study limitations that could have introduced bias and say their results might not be generalisable to all settings. However, key strengths include the large sample size and high follow-up rate.
"For the millions of women worldwide living in areas where access to abortion is restricted, the findings show the vital role played by self sourced medical abortion in providing an option with high effectiveness rates and few reported adverse outcomes," they conclude.
In a linked editorial, researchers in Canada say, while findings from self reported data must always be treated with some degree of caution, these "reassuring study data support growing calls for reform."
They point out that repeal of legal restrictions "would support the safest and most equitable abortion care for women in Irish jurisdictions.
Until then, for the first time in history, women of all social classes in a legally restricted yet high resource setting have equitable access to a reasonable alternative: medical abortion guided by physicians through telemedicine," they conclude.
Note to Editors:
Journal: The BMJ
For more information, please contact:
Abigail R A Aiken, LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA - Research
Email: araa2@utexas.edu
Wendy V Norman, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada - Editorial
Email: wendy.norman@ubc.ca
-----------------------------
Source: Women on Waves: https://www.womenonwaves.org/en/page/6985/online-abortion-service-women-on-web--a-vital-alternative
Facebook
Google+
Twitter
LinkedIn