COVID-19 and Abortion Care Update: Department of Health and Social Care “Error”
25 March 2020
In an unprecedented move, on 23 March 2020 the Department of Health and Social Care liberalised restrictions on abortion care in England only to revoke that decision hours later. This returned the legal position for abortion provision back to that stated in the approval order of the Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, in 2018. The 2018 approval order is very clear that remote prescription and provision of abortion medication is unlawful. Women must still attend an abortion clinic in order to access treatment, which is especially concerning given the current COVID-19 emergency.