For several years, access to abortion pills has been more tightly controlled in Quebec than elsewhere in Canada, but a new directive issued to doctors across the province is changing that.
From now on, doctors in Quebec can prescribe the abortion pill – also known as medical abortion – as long as they feel qualified to do so. Previously, doctors were required to undergo special in-person training for both medical and surgical abortions.
“It is up to the physician to ensure that he has the knowledge and skills necessary to prescribe this drug, as well as any other care, medication or treatment, in accordance with his ethical obligations,” the College of Physicians of Quebec said in a statement , the professional organization that sets the rules on abortion in the province.
The college’s decision comes less than two weeks after a group of at least 300 Quebec doctors signed an open letter demanding restrictions on access to abortion pills be lifted. They argue that the provincial rules make access to medical abortions unnecessarily more difficult in Quebec.
Calls for better abortion access in the province have grown louder since the United States Supreme Court’s controversial reversal of Roe v. Wade last month.
Medical abortion is available in Quebec until the ninth week of pregnancy, and doctors said many patients may run out of time when an ultrasound is needed, especially if they live outside urban centers.
For years, doctors deemed qualified to prescribe the pill also had to have patients undergo an ultrasound before the abortion — another provincial rule that differed from the rest of Canada.
In a statement earlier this month, the college said it had waived that obligation during the pandemic. It was confirmed on Thursday that the rule is now being lifted for good.
The college said the changes were part of an ongoing review of rules regarding medical abortions. It said it was reviewing the nine-week limit on such abortions, looking at the possible use of telemedicine, “the input of other prescribing professionals” and tools to train doctors.
“The college will ensure that doctors have training available to them to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to prescribe medication, without that training being mandatory or mandated,” the group’s statement said.
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