Skuster Patty, Dhillon Jina, Li Jessica
Temple University Beasley School of Law, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Ipas, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
Front Glob Womens Health. 2021 Nov 24;2:705611. doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2021.705611. eCollection 2021.
For many people seeking abortion during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine abortion is the safest and most acceptable method, posing lower risk of exposure to the virus. In addition, by reducing in-person visits with health care providers, increased use of telemedicine for abortion can reduce pressure on overburdened health systems. Given the benefits of telemedicine during the pandemic, government agencies in several countries took measures to temporarily allow telemedicine abortion. We conducted key-word English-language searches to identify examples of government action to remove regulatory barriers to the practice of telemedicine abortion in response to the pandemic. We found instances of government agencies in eight countries taking steps to ease regulatory barriers to telemedicine abortion. Telemedicine abortion is safe, cost-effective, and may be the preferred method of abortion during acute periods of COVID-19 transmission, as well as after the pandemic has abated. As one step to expanding access to abortion with medicine where abortion is legal, health agencies and other regulatory bodies can take steps to remove barriers specific to telemedicine abortion.
对于许多在持续的新冠疫情期间寻求堕胎的人来说，远程医疗堕胎是最安全且最可接受的方法，感染病毒的风险较低。此外，通过减少与医疗服务提供者的面对面就诊，增加远程医疗在堕胎方面的使用可以减轻不堪重负的医疗系统的压力。鉴于疫情期间远程医疗的益处，几个国家的政府机构采取措施临时允许远程医疗堕胎。我们进行了英文关键词搜索，以找出政府采取行动消除远程医疗堕胎实践监管障碍以应对疫情的例子。我们发现八个国家的政府机构采取措施放宽对远程医疗堕胎的监管障碍。远程医疗堕胎是安全、具有成本效益的，并且在新冠病毒传播急性期以及疫情缓解后可能是首选的堕胎方式。作为在堕胎合法的地方扩大药物堕胎可及性的一步，卫生机构和其他监管机构可以采取措施消除远程医疗堕胎特有的障碍。
