Neubauer adds that surgical abortion training needs to be prioritised across the UK. “For the past few years, MSI has been providing surgical abortion training to doctors who work in the NHS to expand access and reduce the distance that women are having to travel,” she says. “So far, 10 doctors have been trained, but more must be done to end the postcode lottery of abortion care.”

Although abortion care has seen vast improvements in the past few years thanks to successful campaigning for telemedicine ‘at-home abortion pills’ to continue post-panedmic (for pregnancies up to a certain date), the above figures paint a stark figure of how far there still is to go to make abortion care equal across the UK. Couple this with the fact that we’re still waiting for MPs to decide on a date for a vote on decriminalising abortion in England and Wales, and the situation looks bleak. That’s why doctors, abortion providers and campaigners are calling on the government to commit to improving abortion care for women across the UK, no matter where they live. “We are working towards the de-stigmatisation and normalisation of abortion for those accessing and those providing abortion care,” says Adesara. “We are campaigning for the full decriminalisation of abortion across the UK and are calling on politicians to prioritise abortion care and women’s health.”

Why are women in the UK still having to travel for abortions?