Six in ten Dutch GP's willing to prescribe abortion pill

A majority, 58 percent, of general practitioners in the Netherlands are willing to prescribe the abortion pill if the law allows them to do so, abortion organization Women on Waves found in a survey of Dutch GPs. Though three-quarters of GPs said that they do not currently feel qualified to carry out this treatment, NRC reports.

On Thursday, the lower house of the Dutch parliament will vote on a bill by GroenLinks, PvdA, D66, and VVD that makes it possible for general practitioners to prescribe the abortion pill. Currently, abortion, even in pill form, can only be initiated by doctors in licensed abortion clinics or hospitals. 

If the law is passed, GPs have the option but are not obliged to prescribe the abortion pill. Therefore, Peter Leusink, the co-author of the study and a GP, finds the 58 percent willingness among his colleagues "very acceptable." "Many GPs work in group practices, so with this percentage, there will always be a GP willing to help a woman."

Only 15 percent of GPs said they feel sufficiently equipped to prescribe the abortion pill. 76 percent said they think they lack the knowledge and experience. The bill includes mandatory training for GPs who want to be able to prescribe the pill. 

GroenLinks parliamentarian Corinne Ellemeet called the study "excellent news," NRC reports. "It's about increasing freedom of choice. If more than half of GPs are already willing, it is a very substantial group that will hopefully grow even further."

Women on Waves surveyed 127 general practitioners on how they feel about the abortion pill. Women and GPs in Noord-Holland and Utrecht were overrepresented in the survey. "It is not fully representative numerically, but it gives a good indication," Leusink said.