Kathryn J. LaRoche

From qualified physician to licensed health care professional: the time has come to change mifepristone's label.

From qualified physician to licensed health care professional: the time has come to change mifepristones label Angel M. Foster⁎, Courtney B. Jackson, Kathryn J. LaRoche, Katherine Simmonds, Diana Taylor Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa New View Data Solutions Massachusetts General Hospital, Institute of Health Professions Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, University of California, San Francisco

Exploring Canadian women's knowledge of and interest in mifepristone: results from a national qualitative study with abortion patients

INTRODUCTION Although Canada decriminalized abortion in 1988, significant disparities in access to services and an uneven geographic distribution of providers persists. Health Canada registered mifepristone, the gold standard of medication abortion, in July 2015. Our study explored Canadian womens knowledge of, interest in, and perspectives on mifepristone prior to registration. METHODS From November 2012 through July 2015 we conducted in-depth interviews with 174 Anglophone and Francophone women from Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec about their abortion experiences and their opinions about medication abortion. We purposively recruited participants from different age cohorts and different regions within each study province to explore a range of perspectives. We analyzed these interviews for content and themes related to mifepristone using both deductive and inductive analytic techniques. RESULTS The overwhelming majority of participants had no knowledge of mifepristone at the time of the interview. However, after providing a brief description of an evidence-based mifepristone/misoprostol regimen, more than half of the participants reported that they would have considered this method had it been available at the time of their abortion and most would have been comfortable receiving medication abortion care from a family physician or nurse practitioner. Most women supported the approval of mifepristone and felt Canadian women would benefit from having more options for early pregnancy termination. CONCLUSION Although knowledge of mifepristone among recent abortion patients was low, considerable interest in medication abortion exists. Expanding awareness-raising efforts and supporting the approval of evidence-based regimens and provision of mifepristone appears warranted. IMPLICATIONS The approval and introduction of mifepristone for early abortion in Canada promises to increase options and access. Creating tailored and culturally and contextually resonant messages about mifepristone is of high priority. Promoting evidence-based protocols and the inclusion of a full range of qualified professionals in service provision is also warranted.

No exceptions: documenting the abortion experiences of US Peace Corps volunteers

Since 1979, US federal appropriations bills have prohibited the use of federal funds from covering abortion care for Peace Corps volunteers. There are no exceptions; unlike other groups that receive health care through US federal funding streams, including Medicaid recipients, federal employees, and women in federal prisons, abortion care is not covered for volunteers even in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest. We interviewed 433 returned Peace Corps volunteers to document opinions of, perceptions about, and experiences with obtaining abortion care. Our results regarding the abortion experiences of Peace Corps volunteers, especially those who were raped, bear witness to a profound inequity and show that the time has come to lift the “no exceptions” funding ban on abortion coverage.