Women in England will be allowed to take the abortion pill at home.
Campaign groups and health officials have welcomed the decision to allow women seeking early medical abortions to take their second pill outside of the clinic.
Women in England are currently required to take both stages of the medication at a clinic. The second pill needs to be taken between 24 and 48 hours after the first.
This can often lead to the medicine taking effect while a woman is travelling.
The Independent reports that the UK government will permit women to take the second abortion pill at home legally.
This comes after many were opting to illegally take the pills at home to avoid the medicine taking effect while they were using public transport.
Women in Scotland and Wales are already permitted to take abortion pills at home.
The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) has welcomed the move but questioned why it took “so long” to change the law.
Our staff and the women they care for have waited years for this decision. We are very grateful to @MattHancock for putting women's health and wellbeing first and approving home use. pic.twitter.com/mnU54zSXVY
— BPAS (@BPAS1968) August 25, 2018
In a statement on Twitter, they said:
“Why has this taken so long? We have always been told it is too controversial, the media will go into meltdown.
“What’s actually been controversial is the time it has taken to approve this simple, woman-centred change.”
“This is a very simple change but one that will make a huge difference to women,” they said.
