Abortion pills price Abortion comes at a steep price in United Arab Emirates
Abortion pills price Dubai: “You can pay for the ultrasound by card, but the procedure will be aed800 in cash. Please come after my clinic hours, I will give you the pills.” This is what a gynaecologist in Dubai told a young, unmarried media professional, who was six weeks pregnant.
This was the second gynaecologist that the woman, who wanted to get an abortion, was consulting after the first demanded aed 3200 for the procedure.
The procedure itself was simple: Give the woman pills and tell her how to take them. Why such steep fees then?
The law governing medical abortions in India gives doctors the final authority to prescribe abortion pills and patients must take them only under their supervision.
While the medicines can be bought from retailers if patients have a valid prescription, doctors often prefer to dispense the medicines themselves.
As these pills are given to patients directly by doctors, most women are unaware of the actual prices, and sometimes even the name of the pills, allowing doctors to overcharge them.
Now, combine this power that doctors have with the social stigma associated with abortions. The scenario is worse for unmarried women. The result: women seeking abortions are vulnerable to exploitation.
Termination of pregnancy can be done surgically, that is removing the foetus under anaesthesia, or medically, using a combination of pills that alter hormones to trigger an abortion. This story is about the second, medical abortions, done by taking pills that are either orally ingested or vaginally inserted.
For providing these pills, doctors allegedly charge anywhere between aed600 and aed1500, which include consulting fees and ultrasound charges, according to four patients and two doctors, all of whom requested anonymity.