Misoprostol and mifepristone are used for medical abortions Brigette Supernova / Alamy Stock Photo

Women in England will soon be able to have abortions at home if they are less than ten weeks pregnant.

Home abortions were introduced in Scotland and Wales last year. Now the UK government has said this will be legalised in England before the end of the year. But abortion remains illegal in almost all circumstances in Northern Ireland.

Medical abortions during the first nine weeks of pregnancy involve taking two lots of medicine, a day or two apart, called mifepristone and misoprostol. About eight in ten terminations of pregnancy now happen this way.


Currently women in England have to take both doses in a clinic under medical supervision, and then leave the clinic after the second pill to pass the pregnancy at home. Women may experience pain, bleeding, nausea and vomiting. But studies have shown the process is relatively safe. It’s the same process that happens when women have a miscarriage, which they usually don’t need to go into hospital for.

Legal steps

As some women start passing the pregnancy on their journey home, charities such as the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, a UK abortion provider, have long been campaigning for home abortions to be legalised.

The Department of Health and Social Care announced today that, under the new system, women will be allowed to take the second pill at home if they prefer. The change will not be debated in parliament, but the UK health minister will need to take some legal steps so that homes become approved as a venue where abortions can take place.

Anti-abortion groups may try to block the move. The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children launched a judicial review against the introduction of home abortions in Scotland, but they lost their case earlier this month.

Home abortions can also take place in some parts of the US and Australia.