Beginning the following week, on August 30, women in England and Wales will always have access to early, at-home medical abortions.

 Ministers were forced to abandon plans to scrap the "pills by post" service.

Pills by post enable women to end early-stage pregnancies from home.

The decision will help thousands of women who prefer to take the first pill at home rather than a clinic or hospital because it allows them to do so privately.

During the early stages of the COVID pandemic in 2020, the temporary measure was first put in place so that women could access treatment after a phone or online consultation rather than going to a clinic.

Two different medications must be taken to end a pregnancy through a medical abortion. Despite the fact that only the second set of pills could be taken at home prior to the pandemic, the pills must be taken within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

The new "pills by post" regulations would be eliminated in England at the end of August 2022, according to ministers' statements in February.

The public health minister, Maggie Throup, announced the two-year "pills by post" service would be extended to the end of August but then scrapped altogether.

This announcement prompted a major outcry from medical groups, pro-choice organizations, and abortion service providers. 

Consequently, Wales decided to make the scheme permanent, and ministers only agreed to do the same in England after a revolt by MPs in a free vote in March.

The Department of Health and Social Care on Tuesday, August 23, confirmed that new legislation would allow women to access pills for early medical abortion via a phone or online consultation and for both sets of pills to be taken at home for pregnancies of up to nine weeks and six days.

Throup said, "The wellbeing and safety of women requiring access to abortion services is paramount." With these measures, women will have more choice in how and where they access abortion services while ensuring robust data is collected to ensure their continued safety.

The government also said the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health would publish safeguarding guidance for under-18s accessing early medical abortion services to ensure the continued safety of children and young people.

The guidance, to be published imminently, reinforces the principles that young people should have access to early medical abortions in "a timely manner" and that "their holistic and safeguarding needs must be addressed by providers," the government has said.