Early Medical Abortion, Equality of Access, and the Telemedical Imperative

Telemedicine has recently become a key focus of healthcare systems globally, heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased need for remote care pathways. Implementing telemedicine can bring myriad benefits for both patients and providers, and has the potential to make a huge impact by improving access to abortion care.

In both the United Kingdom and United States, abortion is heavily regulated--exceptionally so when compared to other routine healthcare. This regulation has had the impact of exacerbating the social and geographical circumstances that can make access to abortion services difficult.

This book examines telemedical provision of early medical abortion, alongside the access barriers created by laws in the United Kingdom and United States. It critically appraises a series of developments in this rapidly evolving subject, providing an up-to-date and well-informed analysis. In doing so, it argues that there is a moral imperative to introduce, retain, or reinstate (as applicable) telemedical early medical abortion.

Jordan A. Parsons, PhD Candidate, Bristol Medical School, Elizabeth Chloe Romanis, Assistant Professor in Biolaw, Durham Law School, Durham University

Jordan A. Parsons is a PhD candidate at Bristol Medical School. His PhD is supported by the Wellcome Trust and explores decisions made with, for, and on behalf of cognitively impaired adults with kidney failure - particularly in relation to the choice between dialysis and conservative kidney
management. Jordan’s work is at the intersection of bioethics, medical law, and health policy. His wider research interests include sexual and reproductive health, organ transplantation law and policy, ethical issues in nephrology, genetic privacy, and theory in public policy.

Dr Elizabeth Chloe Romanis is Assistant Professor in Biolaw at Durham Law School. Chloe passed her Wellcome Trust-funded PhD at the University of Manchester on artificial womb technology in 2020 with no corrections and was awarded the University of Manchester distinguished achievement medal for
humanities research student of the year. She has published extensively on the ethico-legal issues in gestation surrounding the development of artificial womb technologies, on abortion law and policy, and on choice in childbirth. Her broader research interests include sexual and reproductive health
law, feminist legal theory, and comparative law. Chloe currently teaches Contemporary Issues in Biolaw and Contract Law at Durham.