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Dr. Yves Dour (Doctor in Pharmacy)
While the information is very little known, some doctors are having difficulty obtaining gymiso, a drug that is nevertheless necessary during a voluntary termination of pregnancy.
Bad news for all patients waiting for a medical abortion. Gymiso, a drug from the prostaglandin family used in the context of medical termination of intrauterine pregnancy, is becoming very difficult to find.
No alternative solution for a medical abortion
Faced with this shortage of stock, Dr Quedeville, general practitioner in Chilly-mazarin (Île-de-France), is particularly worried:
“The Gymiso was to be available again in pharmacies on November 18… Except that it’s the 22nd and nothing has changed! Nobody knows if this rupture is due to a manufacturing defect of the Gymiso or a simple delay in production. But what is certain is that I have an abortion today and that I no longer have any medication. I just can’t practice anymore“, laments the general practitioner.
The expert specifies that if, previously, Cytotec (misoprotol) could replace Gymiso, today, its marketing has been stopped.
Conclusion: no solution is presented to the doctors or to the patients, who are still waiting for a medical abortion.
“Since 2005, I have never seen that, and yet it has been many years that I practice voluntary terminations of pregnancy. Abortion is ultimately a reflection of the problem of access to care“, regrets the expert, specifying that he will have to”go to a hospital center to hope to find Gymiso“.
A questioning of access to this right?
If not, will it be necessary to go through the surgical (abortion) option? The doctor hopes not to come to this: “Cis already a traumatic enough practice as it is“.
Nevertheless, the reality is there: if the shortage of medication persists and abortions are delayed in town, the deadline for resorting to them will (potentially) be exceeded.
Variable stocks depending on the region
For his part, Dr. Dour, pharmacist in Le Mans, does not yet perceive the beginnings of a stock shortage.
“I did not have any information on this subject, and my wholesaler tells me that any order from Gymiso stock is “fast”. Nevertheless, we have no idea of the depth of their stock“.
Including abortion in the Constitution is “totally useless”
For Dr Quedeville, the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution is a useless measure, “which give politicians a good conscience but which will not improve access to abortion“.
“It is a tragedy for all patients. We don’t care how they have access to abortion. And yet: many women lose a lot of time in their careers. They have to look for information on the subject, then they often consult a general practitioner, who finally redirects them to a practitioner performing abortions. The waste of time is enormous“.
The solution for the expert? “It is absolutely necessary to reintegrate the patients into a fluid health course” and especially “inform populations about access to medical abortions in the city“.