What is abortion drug mifepristone MS 2-Step and who will be able to prescribe it under new access rules in Australia?
Abortion pills will be prescribed by nurses and pharmacists in a landmark medical change approved by the TGA. Here’s everything you need to know.
Major changes to abortion access in Australia will take effect from August 1, with all doctors and nurse practitioners to be authorised to prescribe them. Here’s everything you need to know:
What is the abortion pill MS-2 Step?
Mifepristone is one component of a two-drug regimen that can be used in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The pill, known as RU486 overseas, was first registered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration a decade ago for use on pregnant women up to nine weeks gestation. In the US, where mifepristone was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000, the drug accounts for more than half the abortions there and has become the centrepiece of the country’s latest clash over women’s reproductive freedom.
When do the abortion pill changes take effect?
From August 1, all doctors and nurse practitioners will be able to prescribe the pregnancy termination pills, and all pharmacies can stock it. Nurse practitioners – who represent about one per cent of nurses – will also be able to prescribe the medications under the PBS.
Who has prescribed abortion pills up until now?
Currently, medical abortions can be performed by doctors in the first nine weeks of pregnancy, with less than 10 per cent of Australian GPs registered to prescribe the two courses of pills, containing misoprostol and mifepristone (RU486). Until now, prescribers and dispensers of the two-part medical abortion treatment needed extra certification or registration, meaning only about 30 per cent of pharmacists are currently able to deal with the pill.
How much do abortion drugs cost?
Medical abortion medication costs $42.50 under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. However, MSI Australia estimates women can face out-of-pocket costs of more than $350.
What is MS Health?
MS Health is a not-for-profit subsidiary of MSI Australia, the leading provider of abortion services. MS Health has overseen the import, distribution and management of abortion pills since 2012. In 2022 it applied to the Therapeutic Goods Administration to update who had the right to administer terminations, pushing for nurses to hand out the pills.
MS Health’s Operations Manager Adam Pirie told The Australian he wanted to make abortion pills more accessible for women, particularly in regional and remote areas.
“The Risk Management Plan currently in place for MS two-Step only allows certified doctors to prescribe the medical abortion pills,” Mr Pirie said.
“We are preparing a TGA application to update the plan to widen the definition of who can prescribe the medication. “Effectively, we will be removing one roadblock that prevents nurses, midwives and other healthcare practitioners from prescribing the medical abortion pills. It will then be up to states and territories, and various regulatory bodies to define who can administer the medication.”
What has been the government’s response?
The Albanese government said at the time it would welcome any proposals to make abortion more accessible, amid a push to set a national standard for ending pregnancies across the states. Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney, a former nurse, said in July last year the government had not been formally approached by MS Health but she “would welcome applications to the TGA and the PBAC that seek to remove barriers to access”.
“In light of Roe vs Wade and the changing of abortion rights in the US, I know many Australian women are concerned about access to termination,” Ms Kearney told The Australian.
“Access to affordable termination is a crucial part of healthcare for women.”
he abortion drug Mifepristone is part of a two-drug regimen to induce an abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy in combination with the drug Misoprostol.
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