Dr. Mary Favier:

Exactly. The wait introduces significant barriers. As the provision would appear to introduce a mandatory two visits or interactions then, by definition, if one lives in more remote areas, or faces financial, childcare or disability issues, there are barriers.

One of our biggest concerns is that mandatory waiting periods may push women with those risk factors back into illegal services and accessing abortion pills over the Internet. Although abortion medication is very safe, we have concerns regarding its usage in unsafe environments. A three-day mandatory waiting period may contribute to such usage. The number of women who continue to access such services over the Internet is a marker of potential failure on this issue. We will know whether we have been successful in provision when we look at those numbers. Women will continue to do so for many reasons but it should not be because we have placed barriers in their way. From a medical rather than a legislative perspective, a mandatory three-day waiting period appears to be one such barrier.