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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Eden Gillespie

Queensland introduces Australian-first law to allow midwives and nurses to prescribe abortion pills

A patient is given the first of two pills prescribed for a medical abortion
A patient is given the first of two pills taken for a medical abortion. Queensland nurses and midwives will be authorised to prescribe the treatment under a new law. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP

Queensland will become Australia’s first jurisdiction to introduce a law to allow nurses and midwives to dispense pregnancy termination medication in a move expected to improve access in the state’s “huge abortion deserts”.

In August the Therapeutic Goods Administration scrapped restrictions on the prescription of medical abortion pills, known as MS-2 Step, to be used in the early stages of pregnancy. But it is up to individual jurisdictions to determine the specific healthcare practitioner and the appropriate qualifications for prescribing.

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