Health Canada eases restrictions on abortion pill Mifegymiso
TORONTO — Women who want to use the abortion pill Mifegymiso can now take it farther along in their pregnancy, Health Canada said Tuesday in announcing changes to how the medication is prescribed and dispensed.
The federal department said the abortion pill can now be prescribed up to nine weeks into a pregnancy, rather than the previous limit of seven weeks.
As well, the drug that was initially known as RU-486 can be dispensed directly to patients by a pharmacist or a prescribing health professional, including nurse practitioners in certain jurisdictions.
“What hasn’t changed is that the product itself is the same product,” Dr. Supriya Sharma, chief medical adviser for Health Canada, said in an interview from Ottawa.