Population-based study.
Republic of Malta PARTICIPANTS: Between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2021, 1090 women and pregnant people requested at-home medical abortion through one online telemedicine provider (Women on Web). Mifepristone and misoprostol were shipped to 658 women (60.4% of requests).
The numbers and demographics of persons to which abortion pills were shipped, their reasons for accessing abortion, and reasons for requesting medical abortion via telemedicine between January 2017 and December 2021 were analysed. Selected data were compared across different groups.
The number of people in Malta to whom medical abortion pills were shipped increased significantly in the 5 years analysed. Women and pregnant people requesting medical abortion were diverse with respect to age, pregnancy circumstances and reasons for seeking an abortion. More than half had existing children and over 90% reached out to Women on Web at <7 weeks. Among those completing a medical abortion, 63% did not use contraception, and in 30% there was contraception failure. The most common reasons for ordering medical abortion pills online were difficulty accessing abortion because of legal restrictions (73%) and abortion pills not being available (45%) in the country.
Despite a complete ban on abortion, the number of women and pregnant people residing in Malta completing at-home medical abortions is considerable and has been steadily increasing.
方法:基于人群的研究。
方法:马耳他参与者:在2017年1月1日至2021年12月31日期间,1090名妇女和孕妇通过一个在线远程医疗提供者(网络上的妇女)请求家庭医疗流产。米非司酮和米索前列醇被运送到658名妇女(60.4%的请求)。
方法:被运走的人的数量和人口统计,他们获得堕胎的原因,并分析了2017年1月至2021年12月期间通过远程医疗请求药物流产的原因.选择的数据在不同组之间进行比较。
结果:在分析的5年中,向马耳他运送药物流产药的人数显着增加。要求药物流产的妇女和孕妇在年龄方面有所不同,怀孕的情况和寻求堕胎的原因。超过一半的人有现有的孩子,超过90%的人在不到7周的时间就联系到了网络上的女性。在那些完成药物流产的人中,63%的人没有使用避孕药。30%的人避孕失败。在网上订购药物流产药的最常见原因是由于法律限制(73%)和该国无法使用流产药(45%),因此难以获得流产药。
结论:尽管完全禁止堕胎,居住在马耳他的妇女和孕妇在家中完成医疗堕胎的人数相当多,而且一直在稳步增加。