Overview
- The government announced Wednesday that it will allow a two‑drug regimen of mifepristone plus misoprostol for pregnancies up to nine weeks and aims to start a phased rollout in the first quarter of 2027.
- For at least the first two years prescriptions and dispensing will be restricted to hospitals and clinics and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is reviewing an application to approve import of the combined product.
- Women’s rights groups called the move a step toward safer care but urged broader eligibility and fewer dispensing limits, including expanding the gestational window and easing prescription rules.
- Medical associations said they support introducing the drugs in principle but demanded clear clinical protocols for managing complications and explicit legal protections for doctors who prescribe them.
- The plan responds to a legal gap left by the 2019 Constitutional Court ruling that struck down most of the old abortion ban and to reports that some women bought pills through unsafe online channels, a trend regulators say formal approval would help curb.