Telemedicine has an expansive footprint. In fact, tele-abortions serve as an alternative option to traditional in-person abortions, especially in countries where access to safely terminating a pregnancy is limited.
But does one method result in fewer adverse effects for women? In other words, is one safer than the other?
Apparently not, according to a study published in BMJ. “Self sourced medical abortion using online telemedicine can be highly effective, and outcomes compare favourably with in clinic protocols,” the study reads.
To come to this conclusion, researchers conducted a study of women from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Abortion laws there are quite restrictive, as it is only allowed to save a woman’s life and, in Northern Ireland, to save her permanent physical and mental health. But according to the study, women in the Republic and Northern Ireland have been able to self-source abortion through telemedicine for the past 10 years.
Researchers looked at three years of data, analyzing a group of women who underwent self-sourced abortions through Women on Web between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012.
Women on Web is a nonprofit organization that helps women receive abortions through online telemedicine in countries where access is restrained. Females up to 10 weeks’ gestation simply fill out a request form, which is reviewed by a physician. Upon approval, they’re sent mifepristone and misoprostol via mail. Women on Web provides females with real-time instructions and support, and users are invited to review their experience four weeks later.
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Between the beginning of 2010 and the end of 2012, Women on Web sent mifepristone and misoprostol to 1,636 females in the Republic and Northern Ireland. Of those, 1,023 confirmed they had used the pills. Additional information on the outcome of the abortion was available for 1,000 of those women.
The researchers focused their efforts on that subset of 1,000 individuals. The majority — 94.7 percent — self-reported that the telemedicine abortion method helped them end their pregnancy without any surgical intervention.
No deaths resulting from the tele-abortion method were reported by friends, family members, authorities or the media.
Only seven of the 1,000 women said they received a blood transfusion, while 26 said they got antibiotics.
Additionally, 93 women said they experienced a symptom for which they were encouraged to seek medical advice. Eighty-seven did so, and the five who didn’t did not report any adverse outcomes.
The researchers conclude that these results bode well for the future of tele-abortions, as the rates of success “are comparable with protocols in clinics.” Using telemedicine can be particularly useful for women living in countries where abortion access is regulated. The study, researchers claim, “provides the best evidence to date that self sourced medical abortion through online telemedicine is highly effective and that rates of adverse events are low.”
Photo: IAN HOOTON, Getty Images
