Australian pharmacies stocking abortion pill rise nearly 50% after prescribing rules eased, study finds

The study examined changes that allowed the medication to be prescribed by any GP. Before the changes, GPs needed additional training and registration to prescribe it. The requirement for pharmacists to be registered to dispense the drug was also scrapped, and administrative hurdles were relaxed. Appropriately trained nurse practitioners and endorsed midwives also became eligible prescribers.

By comparing pharmacy ordering data in the two years before and after the changes, researchers found that by mid-2025, 49% more pharmacies were stocking the medication. There were 2,228 pharmacies stocking it before the policy change, rising to 4,107 by mid-2025. The number of postcodes with a pharmacy stocking the medication rose from 915 to 1,292, or nearly half of all Australian postcodes, two years after the changes. Regional coverage increased from 23% to 35% of postcodes, while the proportion of stocking pharmacies in remote areas nearly doubled, rising from 12.5% to 22%.

The lead author of the paper, Prof Kristina Edvardsson from La Trobe University's school of nursing and midwifery, said it showed "Australian women who need access to this medication can access it closer to home". She said it removes unnecessary travel and stress around getting the medication once it is prescribed, particularly for women who might be more disadvantaged, women living in rural and remote areas, and women who might not have the means to travel. "If you can go to your local pharmacy and pick up this medication, it means getting care quicker," she said.

Edvardsson said other studies have found improving access to MS-2 Step is safe, and that when access to the medical abortion pill increases, the need for surgical abortion decreases. "In some European countries, medical abortion accounts for more than 90% of all abortions, and it looks like we're heading that way here as well with a steady increase in medication abortion versus surgical abortion," she said.

MS-2 Step, available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, comprises two drugs used together, mifepristone and misoprostol. It can be taken until up to 63 days of gestation. At the time of the study, MS-2 Step was the only abortion pill available, but in February an additional drug, Arzestra, comprising the same two medicines, was approved by the TGA.

Dr Anna Noonan, a postdoctoral research fellow and abortion researcher with the University of Technology Sydney, said the data should be "an important signal" to countries where more restricted prescribing was still in place, such as the US. "There are still pervasive, unnecessary barriers in lots of places, and data like this is an important signal that regulation and overregulation is not the way forward," she said. Noonan said there was still work to be done to improve rural and regional access, and that her own research suggested a lot of "invisible work" also occurred by local doctors, nurses and advocates working behind the scenes so that people can confidentially and more easily find healthcare. "Doctors and nurses are going to pharmacies in advance saying, 'I'm going to be an abortion provider in this community, will you stock this medication?'" she said. "Overregulation creates extra work for those trying to provide timely care, and it doesn't work out in the best interests of people seeking care. The more we encourage a deregulated environment, the easier access will be, particularly for people with less resources."

Editor's Summary

A study found that Australian pharmacies stocking MS-2 Step rose almost 50% after 2023 prescribing changes, with coverage expanding in regional and remote areas. Researchers and an outside expert said the data support deregulation and improved access, while noting rural and regional gaps remain. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.