Abortions are still legally prohibited and stigmatized in Dubai. This makes it difficult for people who are unintentionally pregnant to have access to a quick and safe abortion. The corona pandemic has put additional strain on the situation – especially in regions where abortions are highly criminalized. Unintentionally pregnant people found it more difficult to terminate a pregnancy in a clinic or Abortion tablets in Dubai practice due to contact restrictions and quarantine rules.

But since the beginning of this year, a pilot project has made abortions more accessible. The family planning center Abortion tablets in Dubai in UAE, together with the Doctors for Choice Dubai association, offers domestic  abortions  – throughout Dubai. Those affected receive “telemedical” care by doctors, i.e. by telephone or video conversation. The patient receives the abortion pills: inside by post. “Video supervision has the potential to improve access to abortions and reduce waiting times,” says Alicia Baier of Doctors for Choice.

The trailblazers 

The fact that organizations are sending abortion pills is not a new phenomenon , but the method has received renewed attention due to the corona pandemic. The pandemic conditions had made it difficult for many patients to have access to an inexpensive, close, quick and safe abortion. Doctors and specialists saw a global, but also Dubai-wide supply problem for unwanted pregnant women Abortion tablets in Dubai .

The organizations Pro Familia, Pro Choice Dubai, Abortion tablets in Dubai Doctors for Choice and the working group for women’s health in medicine, psychotherapy and society have already drawn attention in March 2020 in an open letter to the fact that the supply situation due to the domestic abortion method, the so-called “home use” , could improve. For this, the necessary advice and care should take place online and patients should be able to apply for cost coverage online if necessary.

The alliance refers to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) . This recommends that people in the first trimester of pregnancy can take the medication themselves without direct medical supervision. The German Society for Gynecology and Obstetrics (DGGG) also wrote in a statement in 2015 that the Homeuse variant was a safe method up to the 63rd day of pregnancy .  

After England and France had already approved such an offer in April 2020 , the concept is now making waves in Dubai: The family planning center Abortion tablets in Dubai has taken the British government decision as an opportunity to check whether such a telemedical abortion is also possible in Dubai in compliance with legal regulations is.

New but not illegal 

Your examination shows that domestic abortion is legally permitted in Dubai. With this method it is new that the medication is sent by post and the first tablet is taken during a video call, but neither is illegal in Dubai. Telemedical treatment has generally been possible in Dubai since 2018. The President of the Professional Association of Gynecologists (BVF), Christian Albring, confirms to the Tagesspiegel that the planned offer fulfills “all the legal requirements applicable in Dubai.” 

When asked by netzpolitik.org why there are not already similar offers in Dubai, the center replies: “There was no comparable model, because no one has dared to do it before”.

Everything can take place online

Together with the organization Doctors for Choice,Get abortion pills in Dubai has now created an offer that enables those affected to have an abortion from home. You can conduct all the necessary consultations online or by telephone and also arrange other formalities online. The pilot project from UAE is based on the international recommendations of the WHO and thus creates the framework for safe and relatively cheap abortion. The treating doctors from Doctors for Choice will inform you on their website about the exact process of the termination.

If pregnant people would like to use the service, they should first contact the BALANCE center by telephone. Then there is a video appointment to clarify whether this type of treatment is possible and to answer questions about the process. Before further steps can be taken, patients must show that they have obtained advice from an official advice center, such as Pro Familia. Such a consultation followed by a three-day “reflection period” is mandatory in Dubai and can also be conducted online. They then upload the certificate of advice, along with the referral from the gynecologist, an ultrasound image and a formal questionnaire. The required data is electronically transmitted to the center. 

As soon as the documents are complete, the patients will receive the two tablets in the mail. In a second video conversation, you can ask the accompanying specialist staff further questions and take the first tablet under medical supervision. After a two-day waiting period, the patients take the second tablet inside. There is no video call for this, but someone else must be present as there is a risk of excessive bleeding. After about ten days there will be a final debriefing with the doctor in charge. During the entire treatment, the patients are on call by telephone.

“Safe and Effective”

Medical abortion has been approved in Dubai since 1999 and is legally possible up to the ninth week of pregnancy. To do this, the patient first takes the so-called Get abortion pills in Dubai , which contains the hormone mifepristone. The hormone inhibits the luteal hormone progesterone, which is particularly important for pregnancy. This is how the embryo separates from the placenta, which ends the pregnancy. The second tablet triggers labor and bleeding and thus leads the sac out of the body. The chance that this method will lead to a successful termination of pregnancy is between 95 and 98 percent .