Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that temporarily allowed home abortions during the covid-19 outbreak do not place women at increased risk of complications; and whether he will suspend them pending further investigations of these risks.

The Department is aware of a small number of incidents of concern which we are looking into alongside with the Care Quality Commission and other partners. We continue to closely monitor the impact of the temporary approval for women’s homes to be classed as a place where both sets of medication for early medical abortion can be taken up to 10 weeks gestation.

The Government has committed to undertake a public consultation on making permanent the COVID-19 measure allowing for home use of both pills for early medical abortion up to 10 weeks gestation for all eligible women. Further details on the consultation will be available in due course.