In the Media: Expanded access to abortion services through mifepristone availability – Women's Health Research Institute

Research highlights improved abortion access in Ontario with mifepristone

On April 7th, 2025, a critical research paper was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) by authors from the WHRI affiliated Contraception and Abortion Research Team (CART). This study, titled “Changes in local access to mifepristone dispensed by community pharmacies for medication abortion in Ontario: a population-based repeated cross-sectional cohort study.”

The research demonstrates how availability of mifepristone is making abortion more accessible. Specifically, although only 37% of abortion service users lived in an Ontario region with either a mifepristone-dispensing pharmacy or procedural provider in 2017, this increased to 91% by 2022.

The paper’s significance was highlighted by CMAJ by being an Editor’s Pick for the issue.

Media Coverage

The Globe and Mail

Access to abortion services in Ontario substantially increased in five years after mifepristone made available, study finds

Medical Press

Local access to abortion services expanded with mifepristone in community pharmacies, Canadian study finds

CityNews Toronto

Abortion access in Ontario rose to over 90% after the pill was approved: study

Global News

Abortion access in Ontario rose to over 90% after the pill was approved: study

The Women’s Health Research Institute would like to acknowledge that we are uninvited guests on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lo, and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-waututh) Nations.

As a provincial research institute committed to improving the health outcomes of women, including those across the 2SLGBTQIA+ spectrum, we recognize our responsibility in the collective effort towards establishing culturally safe health care systems and services that address health inequities among Indigenous peoples, especially Indigenous women, girls, and Two-spirit peoples.

We encourage all people involved in research to read both the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and the In Plain Sight Report, and reflect on ways we can incorporate the recommendations into our work. As we gather in spaces together, we encourage you to reflect on your positionality on these lands and your personal commitments to reconciliation.

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