National survey of abortion care providers shows access has improved

Researchers from UBC’s department of obstetrics and gynaecology recently surveyed 465 healthcare professionals who provided abortion care in Canada in 2019—the first such survey in seven years.

A key development in the time between the two surveys was Canada’s approval of mifepristone—the gold standard abortion pill—in 2015.

Findings from the latest survey show that:

• Access to abortion in Canada improved between 2012 and 2019.
• Approval of mifepristone and removal of restrictive regulations around the medication have contributed to this improved access.
• Canada’s pool of abortion providers has become larger and younger, especially since nurse practitioners were approved in 2017 to administer abortion medications.
• Abortions are increasingly being provided in primary care and office-based settings, rather than just by specialists or in dedicated facilities.
• Mifepristone is improving abortion access particularly in rural areas, where medication is used for a higher proportion of abortions (44.4%) than it is in urban areas (25.6%).

Researchers involved in the survey are available for interviews with print, web or broadcast media (audio only). Please contact Erik Rolfsen at UBC Media Relations to make arrangements.