Women in England should be allowed to take pills to induce an abortion at home without the supervision of a doctor, the UK’s top reproductive medics have said.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) say current rules forcing women to visit a clinic or hospital to undergo an early medical termination effectively “punish” those seeking legal abortion.

They are urging Jeremy Hunt to change the rules to bring England in line with Wales and Scotland, where the procedure is allowed at home.

An estimated one in three women have an abortion before the age of 45, most of which take place in early pregnancy when a medical, drug-induced abortion is most effective.

This involves taking two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol, between 24 and 48 hours apart.

The medicines did not exist when at the time of the 1967 Abortion Act and clinics interpret the law as meaning women may only take the drugs at a licensed premises.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the RCOG said this puts some women off seeking an abortion.