A Border doctor says easier access to the pregnancy termination pill is a step in the right direction that will give women peace of mind.
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The Therapeutic Goods Administration has decided the pill should be available through mainstream health services without the onerous and restrictive red tape now involved with prescription and dispensing.
MS-2 Step (Mifepristone and Misoprostol), is a two-part medical abortion medication that is taken to end the pregnancy.
Dr Rebecca McGowan said she agreed with Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) president Nicole Higgins that it was a "huge step forward".
"There are significant barriers to reproductive care in rural and remote areas, including Albury-Wodonga," Dr McGowan said.
"These changes will help the six million women of reproductive age in Australia to have greater access to medical abortion and cut back on the unnecessary red tape for the GPs who provide these essential services."
Dr McGowan said it was essential all women had access to the pill, regardless of their income or where they lived.
"It is important for all women to have access to safe medical or surgical abortion services," she said.
![Doctor Rebecca McGowan said changes will give access to medical abortions for women and will reduce unnecessary red tape for the GPs who provide these services. Doctor Rebecca McGowan said changes will give access to medical abortions for women and will reduce unnecessary red tape for the GPs who provide these services.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/168477368/865ad359-94bd-4e65-bcfc-1ae4ec41f00f.jpg/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Former Albury deputy mayor and now NSW Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn also welcomed the effort to remove prescription red tape for women.
"When I was working as a medical abortion prescriber, too many of my patients had to face the extra hurdle of finding or travelling to a registered pharmacy to fill their script," she said.
"When medical abortion tablets must be taken before nine weeks' gestation, this compounded the time pressure for patients and providers."
A member of the RACGP, Dr McGowan said GPs and nurse practitioners were in a good position to provide the extra support needed for patients accessing a medical abortion.
"They are often the first contact from patients wanting this information in both urban and rural communities," she said.
"Prescribing the medical abortion pills is similar to prescribing any other medication in practice and patients want this medication to be available to them.
"Many GPs are keen to deliver this safe, legal and more than 99 per cent effective service as part of a holistic approach to reproductive health for women."
The TGA announced the change on July 11.
![Former Albury deputy mayor and now NSW Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn. Former Albury deputy mayor and now NSW Greens MLC Dr Amanda Cohn.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/xtb7LvhUpWdRyX3MGXCxS3/0da306cc-7bef-4ed9-a20a-af302d93135b.jpg/r0_327_3200_2126_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Doing so means all pharmacies are able to fill scripts for medical abortion, and that healthcare practitioners other than doctors can prescribe medical abortion if states and territories update and harmonise their legislation.
One aim of the change was to improve access for women living in rural and remote communities.
It was also expected that access to medical abortions would increase dramatically through allowing all doctors and nurse practitioners to prescribe the pregnancy termination pill, and all pharmacies to stock the item.
Dr Cohn said the pill needed to be "truly accessible across the whole of NSW and without financial or geographic barriers".
She said NSW needed to update its legislation in order to "empower the additional prescribers now permitted by the TGA, as well as ensure first trimester surgical abortion is available at every public hospital".
Dr Cohn said that change was really important for access to abortion, but more was needed to ensure both medical and surgical abortions were available, accessible and affordable for all people.
Border pharmacist Ben Brndusic said it was great to see an improvement in access to treatment for women in rural areas.
"It's important to allow access to people when they need it most," Mr Brndusic said.
"Pharmacies are open late nights and weekends, making access more readily available."
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