Ms Maeve Taylor:

I thank the Senator. Home self-management is the general model of care. Women attend a doctor and receive the abortion medication. The first medication is usually taken in the presence of the doctor and the second is taken at home. If women are receiving care fully remotely, they receive a self-care pack and take both medications at home. That is the general access model. Of course, the point we are making is that for many women home is not a suitable environment to self-manage an abortion. Home can be a place that a woman is sharing. Perhaps she is sharing with a number of people. She may even be sharing a bedroom. Home may also mean a place with a coercive or violent partner. It can be a place where one simply has no privacy. These packs are also not suitable for homeless people who may be living in various kinds of unsuitable accommodation. Many people in such situations would prefer a surgical abortion to a medical abortion. Medical abortions are currently the predominant treatment available. For most women, surgical abortion is only offered when there is a clinical indication of it being necessary rather than when there is a preference or a reason linked to their socioeconomic situation.