An over-the-phone abortion service has been providing Australian women with a safe and effective way of terminating pregnancies, a preliminary review has found.
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The Tabbot Foundation gave more than 1800 women access to medical abortions without the need for a face-to-face doctor consultation over 18 months.
Its founders say the service allows women to avoid the potential for stigma and judgment harboured by some healthcare professionals and anti-abortion protesters at family planning clinics.
An independent review of the first 1000 women who used the service found it was comparable to that of medical abortions offered at bricks-and-mortar clinics around the country.
The foundation is named after Tony Abbott, who as health minister attempted to veto the approval of medical abortion drugs then known as RU486 - and Tanya Plibersek, who publicly funded the drugs in 2013.
Women who use the service call a 1800 number and are referred for an ultrasound and blood test. They are then assessed over the phone by a gynaecologist or GP with family planning experience and, if necessary under state law, a clinical psychologist.
For an out-of-pocket cost of $250, patients are mailed the abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol as well as antibiotics, analgesics and anti-nausea medicines.
A blood test 10 days later confirms whether the termination has been successful.
A registered nurse and a 24-hour on-call doctor are available to guide the patient through the process. Of the 717 women who took the abortion drugs provided by the foundation, 82 per cent had a confirmed normal termination while 15 per cent of women were not able to be contacted, said the study led by Associate Professor Suzanne Belton and presented at the World Congress of Public Health.
Two women (0.3 per cent) still had viable pregnancies after taking the drugs.
Two per cent of pregnancies were terminated but a small amount of tissue remained in the uterus, and 0.6 per cent of pregnancies were non-viable but were not expelled from the body.
The preliminary review showed "telehealth abortions are very safe and very efficacious for Australian women who want to terminate their pregnancies," said Professor Belton, a strong advocate for equitable access to abortion who has no financial or voluntary association with the Tabbot Foundation.
