"Without the uniqueness of telemedicine, there will not be a service available in many rural, regional and remote areas," Hyland said. "Unless there is a GP who prescribes, this will require the woman to drive large distances or not avail herself to the abortion at all."



A prescription for RU486 today costs $38.80 on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and $6.40 with a health care card, but in regions where the pills are only provided privately, it can cost upwards of $500.

Hyland said visiting a GP for the pills was cheaper than his service (depending on ultrasound costs) but that GPs couldn't provide the aftercare from an on-call nurse that his service did.

Most of his patients were aged between 26 and 34, most mothers and many with "large families", Hyland said.

Women would call a 1800 number to be mailed a referral for an ultrasound and blood test before being assessed over the phone by a gynaecologist or GP with family planning experience. They would receive counselling if necessary.

For $250 they would then receive abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as well as antibiotics, analgesics and anti-nausea medications.

Last year Hyland decided not to renew his lease and closed the Specialist Gynaecology Centre in Hobart, which had been the main provider of surgical abortion in the state for the past 17 years, sparking a national conversation about abortion access.



Patients were forced to travel interstate, sometimes at a personal cost of thousands of dollars, to terminate a pregnancy.

Hyland closed that service due to the increased demand for medical terminations over surgery, as well as the hefty costs associated with running a clinic, which is also why he shut his Launceston clinic in May 2016. He said he never expected his postal medical abortion service would have to shut.

"We weren't appreciated in Tasmania until we left and I think the same will happen with this service," Hyland said.

He stressed that the Tabbot Foundation was not shutting due to a decreased demand.

"In fact, there is an increased demand for medical abortions over surgical in the first trimester and when we started [medical terminations] were around 15% of all abortions and now it is above 35%," he said.

"The number of abortions overall are decreasing around the world because there's more of an awareness of contraception, but women in Australia need to be made aware that medical abortions are available because women in this country still think abortion means a surgical procedure.

"If you said 'abortion' in Scotland, everyone would think 'oh you take some tablets' because 85% of abortions there are medical."

The foundation is named after former prime minister Tony Abbott, who has described abortion as "the easy way out".

