The practice of using medical abortion in the world

The article presents data on the use of artificial abortion in different countries with the sequential use of two pharmacological agents — the progesterone receptor blocker mifepristone and the synthetic prostaglandin E1 analog mizoprostol (MS2-Step). The data were collected for the period 2016-2023 from the PubMed database using the keyword «mifepristone», as well as open documents from official Web portals and national guidelines. In countries where society is tolerant of artificial abortion, there is an increasing adherence to the drug method, the frequency of which is 87-98% of all abortions. In the countries of Western Europe, the USA, and Austria, there are similar legislative bases for the use of abortion, but the particular issues of legal regulation are different. The specifics of the practice of using MS2-Step, regulated by national guidelines, relate to indications for the use of mifepristone and its dose, the procedure for issuing and receiving a pharmacological remedy by a patient, providing consulting support, certification of medical service provider personnel, conditions for self-managed abortion. An important advantage of the MS2-Step procedure, performed as a self-administered abortion, is convenience, confidentiality, and accessibility. The gestation period for self-managed abortion is limited to 9 weeks in Australia, 10 weeks in Finland, and 12 weeks in the UK. The regulatory documents of Great Britain and Finland allow termination of pregnancy for medical reasons in the period from 22 to 24 weeks, including with the use of mifepristone, in these cases feticide is provided.