Qld to change laws around abortion pill access ASAP

Queenslanders seeking to end a pregnancy will soon have better access to the abortion pill, with the Health Minister committing to putting in place changes “as soon as possible”.

Queenslanders seeking to end a pregnancy will soon have better access to the abortion pill, with the Health Minister committing to putting in place changes “as soon as possible” following a landmark decision by the nation’s medicines watchdog.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Tuesday ruled nurses, midwives and pharmacists, alongside all doctors not just those which had completed special training, would be allowed to prescribe MS-2 Step.

MS-2 Step — the only available medical abortion pill in Australia — can be prescribed for a termination up to 63 days of gestation.

Lifting the restrictions on the pill means women, particularly in regional and remote Queensland, will have better access to MS-2 Step — including with immediate effect from general practitioners.

But in order for nurses, midwives, and pharmacists to prescribe the drug legislative changes are needed.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman. Picture: Liam Kidston

Queensland had already committed to becoming the first state to making it happen in the lead up to the decision.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman flagged she remained committed to doing so, and wanted changes in place “as soon as possible”.

The decision by the TGA was heralded by stakeholders including Children by Choice, Australian Medical Association Queensland, and the Queensland Nurses and Midwifery Union.

AMAQ president Dr Maria Boulton said many women, particularly those in remote and regional areas, had found the drug hard to access since it became legally available in 2012.

But patient safety remained paramount she said, calling for the training required under existing restriction to be made freely available to prescribers moving forward.

Children by Choice Queensland head Daile Kelleher said rural and regional women currently travelled 200km on average to access abortion, creating huge barriers to accessing timely healthcare and impossible for those in controlling or violent relationships.

QNMU secretary Kate Veach said letting midwives and nurses work to their full scope of practice would improve women’s access to important services.

She noted the changes would “require investment in the education and training of the nursing and midwifery workforce”.