In partnership with the Safe Abortion Action Fund and supported by Options Canada, RHTC has set up a telemedicine abortion service in Moldova. For the past year, they have been preparing, obtaining pills and developing materials, particularly videos, for patients. The programme was ready to launch when the Covid-19 crisis hit. Their aim now is to work with the public health system to offer the service nationally.
It works like this: women calculate how many weeks pregnant they are on the website and if they are eligible they send a request and sign a consent form online. They are counselled by a doctor online or by phone. They are then sent the pills by post or collect them from a pharmacy, with a step-by-step guide for use. In follow-up a week later, they are asked questions to check whether the abortion was complete. They do a pregnancy test three weeks after that to confirm.
Feedback from women has been very positive because it could happen at home, it was confidential, they could look after their children, use the bathroom, and felt safe not having to go out.
SOURCE: Rodica Comandent, RHTC, presentation on MSI Webinar, 8 April 2020