Nurses and authorised midwives in the ACT will be able to prescribe abortion pills.
It comes after the ACT Government approved legislation to ease restrictions around who can dispense MS-2 Step — an oral medication that can terminate a pregnancy up to nine weeks gestation.
Until now, the supply and administration of MS-2 Step in the ACT has been limited to doctors only.
Here’s what you need to know.
Context
Last year, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) updated its requirements around prescribing MS-2 Step, allowing “any healthcare practitioner with appropriate qualifications and training, without the need for certification,” to prescribe the abortion pill.
It also eased restrictions on pharmacies, to make it easier to dispense MS-2 Step.
The TGA said the measures were a step towards “addressing important access issues“ in women‘s health.
ACT Government
New legislation in the ACT brings the territory in line with the updated TGA guidelines, and other states and territories.
ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith stressed the importance of ensuring abortion services are safe and accessible.
She said improved access to abortion services “will allow Canberra women to obtain appropriate, safe care, and to avoid potentially detrimental impacts to their mental and physical health and wellbeing.”
Participation
According to the new legislation, health practitioners can exclude themselves from prescribing MS-2 Step for religious or other reasons.
However, they must refer patients to another health provider or give them “information about how to locate or contact” another provider.
The ACT Government said the reforms balance “the need for timely abortion care with the right of health practitioners to not participate in the provision of services that conflict with their religious or personal beliefs.”
Free Abortions
In 2022, the ACT announced it would become the first state or territory to provide free abortion services.
Abortion care is now available through selected GPs in the ACT.
Reproductive health organisation MSI Australia called free abortions a “game changer for reproductive rights.”
