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Women seeking early abortions can now take the medical abortion pill at home, with the NHS offering this service as soon as women are ready.

The change was approved by Matt Hannock, the secretary of state for health and social care, and came into effect on 27 December last year. This means that women in England will now have the choice to take the medication required to terminate a pregnancy in their own homes.

With the government announcing the approved home-use of early medical abortion across England, it's welcome news that women will now have the choice to carry out this decision - for many a difficult decision - privately, in the comfort of their homes. It involves taking two pills, mifepristone and misprostol 24-48 hours apart. Women who choose to take the medical abortion at home will receive the usual checks, without any changes to the way you are assessed and treated, and safeguards are also being introduced to protect those undergoing to treatment at home.

Of the 180,000 women in the UK every year, four in five are early medical abortions. Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies has said: ‘Abortion can be a difficult experience so it is important that women feel safe and as comfortable as possible. This decision will increase choice for women and help ensure they receive safe and dignified care.’

There are three main ways to get an abortion on the NHS:

You can speak to your GP and ask for a referral to an abortion service – your GP should refer you to another doctor if he or she has any objections to abortion

Finally, you can visit a contraception clinic, family planning clinic, sexual health clinic or genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic and ask for a referral to an abortion service

UPDATE 9 January 2019: The original article did not reflect the fact that legal experts have claimed that this legislation discriminates against women in Northern Ireland who are traveling to England to receive the abortion pill. The guidelines state that the second stage of the procedure must take place 'at a place in England where a pregnant woman has her permanent address or usually resides.'

These guidelines prevent women who have travelled over from Northern Ireland from taking the second pill where they are staying - whether that's a hotel or the home of a friend or relative.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, a human rights barrister at Doughty Street Chambers who represented a mother and daughter in the landmark A and B case, which proposed that Northern Ireland’s abortion laws are a breach of human rights, said of health secretary Matt Hancock: ‘He had the opportunity to minimise the suffering and discomfort which women experience during early medical abortions, but he has chosen to do this only for English women.