COVID-19 has reduced access to abortion services and increased the demand for telemedicine provision

The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted access to reproductive health services worldwide, while telemedicine has provided a solution to overcoming long-standing access barriers.

This study analyses the abortion requests made through the Women on Web telemedicine abortion service between 18 March 2020 and 4 May 2020. Nearly half of the requests reported COVID-19 posing obstacles to access abortion care. There is an urgent need for policymakers to expand access to medical abortions by introducing telemedicine, reviewing the regulatory framework around abortion and allowing self-management of medical abortion.

The full study is available here.