SPUC has condemned the new so-called “Telemedicine” service launched yesterday by abortion provider Marie Stopes UK. Antonia Tully of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children said: “This deadly phone for an abortion practice presents a truly horrifying scenario. Women are being urged to make a phone call to get the two pills needed to abort their baby. Fully exploiting the Covid 19 crisis, Marie Stopes UK is also highlighting its usual practice of telling women that they don’t need a GP referral.”
Mrs Tully said: “Let’s be clear, the term ‘telemedicine’ is misleading. Abortion is not medical treatment. This “phone for an abortion” practice misleads women into thinking that abortion is a trivial matter. Women will receive a “Medical Abortion Pack” through the post and many will be on their own when taking the two powerful drugs which will kill their unborn baby.
“A phone consultation is a dangerous basis on which to make abortion pills available. It could be very difficult to make a proper assessment of the woman’s health condition over the phone. For example, if a woman has an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy, such a system could allow the abortion to go ahead with life-threatening consequences.
“There will also be very little chance of establishing whether the woman is being coerced into abortion.”
Antonia Tully said she was particularly worried that vulnerable women in particular would suffer under phone-based abortion provision.
She said: “We are seeing an increase in domestic abuse under the Coronavirus lockdown. My fear is that many women will be pressured into phoning for an abortion by abusive partners. We know that domestic violence is a huge indicator for abortion.”
Marie Stopes UK is targeting women in Northern Ireland, calling on policy makers to allow women there to take both pills at home.
Marie Stopes UK, which provides over 70,000 ‘reproductive services’ to women each year, has launched this facility following the Government’s confirmation of DIY abortions last week. Women are now allowed to self-administer both abortion pills at home.
Mrs Tully added: “Only last week, Lord Bethell on behalf of the Government spoke out against removing ‘the only opportunity many women have, often at a most vulnerable stage, to speak confidentially and one-to-one with a doctor about their concerns on abortion and about what the alternatives might be? The bottom line is that, if there is an abusive relationship and no legal requirement for a doctor’s involvement, it is far more likely that a vulnerable woman could be pressured into have an abortion by an abusive partner.”