WINNIPEG – The abortion pill Mifegymiso is now available to women in Winnipeg.
The pill is drug that’s slowly being released across the country. There is now one practitioner at the Women’s Hospital at Health Science Centre who can administer the drug, Bronwyn Penner-Holigroskiwith the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority said.
In order for the patient to use the drug, she cannot be more than seven weeks pregnant and has to meet a number of criteria to ensure the “optimum safety of the patient,” Penner-Holigroski added.
READ MORE: Abortion pill: Canadian prescribers to get training for Mifegymiso this month
Health professionals in the city are in the process of being trained on administration to prepare for when it is more widely available, she said. Patients who request a prescription will receive counseling and be screened for medical eligibility.
The medication is only available at a cost to the patient, which is around $350 at the pharmacy to purchase the treatment. Mifegymis is not currently covered by any drug plans but may be covered by a health care spending account.
About the pill
The drug was approved in Canada in 2015 and is now slowly being released across the country. It’s been available in other countries, such as France and the United States for years now.
READ MORE: Abortion pill Mifegymiso starts to arrive in Saskatchewan
Canada is the 61st country to offer the Mifegymiso abortion pill, a two-part drug combination that allows women to terminate unwanted pregnancies in the first 49 days or just under seven weeks gestational age.
The combination treatment involves two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol.
According to Costescu, mifepristone blocks the hormone progesterone in a woman. The second drug, misoprostol, induces a miscarriage, and can be taken one to two days later by a woman in their own home.
Up until this point, approximately 96 per cent of women in Canada desiring an abortion have had to go the surgical route. According to medical experts, this requires women to wait a little to get the procedure done.
WATCH: New abortion pill approved by Health Canada
With files from Meaghan Craig
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