Initiating a medical abortion at home is as safe as initiating it at an abortion clinic.
This is clear in a new report by the SBU, the State’s Committee for Medical and Social Evaluation.
But for that to be possible, the abortion law needs to be changed.
– If you have the opportunity to control when and where you are, it is of course positive for many, says Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, professor at Karolinska Institutet and expert in the report.
Over 90 percent of the abortions performed in Sweden today are medical abortions that take place with the help of abortion pills.
A medical abortion means that the woman first takes the drug mifepristone, which causes the pregnancy to stop. After a few days, the second drug, misoprostol, is taken. It sets off contractions in the uterus that cause the fetus to be expelled from the body.
Already allowed in other countries
Now, on behalf of the previous government, the SBU has taken a closer look at the scientific support to also be able to take the first medicine at home – something that is already allowed in, for example, Great Britain, France, Canada and Australia.
– Today, the treatment itself is not so flexible. If you have the opportunity to control when and where you take it, it is of course positive for many, says Kristina Gemzell Danielsson, professor at Karolinska Institutet and expert in the report.
Lack of scientific support
The Abortion Act, which came into effect in 1975, was written when women only had access to surgical abortion, to ensure that the treatment was done safely. However, even though medical abortions are available today, the first drug must still be taken under the supervision of a healthcare professional, while the second can be taken at home.
– It has been shown that there is no difference in the safety or effectiveness of the abortion treatment if the first medicine is taken at home compared to under the supervision of healthcare personnel, says Kristina Gemzell Danielsson
“The abortion law is outdated”
Now Kristina Gemzell Danielsson hopes that the evaluation will lead to politicians considering a change in the abortion law.
– The abortion law is quite outdated. Sweden is geographically a rather complicated country, in some places it is more difficult to book an appointment. If you can instead carry out the entire abortion at home, it would lead to more equal care regardless of where you live and what your life situation is, she says.