Expanding Access to Medical Abortion: Challenges and Opportunities

This article serves as the introduction to a supplement that assembles various papers concerning medical abortion. It addresses different aspects of medical abortion, approaching it from different perspectives and examining the role it can play in different contexts. For example, at the conceptual level, medical abortion is said to be changing how we understand and interpret the WHO definition of unsafe abortion. Studies are referenced which show that outpatient medical abortion can save public health services money. It is suggested that expanding access to medical abortion could expand women's access to abortion services in general. However, challenges are also addressed - such as medical students not being trained to provide medical abortion, reluctance of providers to offer the service, or physicians objecting to non-physicians performing medical abortions. Additionally, the article mentions various social barriers women may face when seeking abortion.