Preparing

Booking an appointment for an abortion

There are a few ways to get an abortion on the NHS. To book an appointment, contact:

a GP - if they have any objections to abortion, they must refer you to another doctor
a local sexual health clinic, also called a family planning or GUM (genitourinary medicine) clinic
an abortion provider such as BPAS, MSI or NUPAS directly
Brook

You'll usually have the first appointment within 1 week of contacting the GP, clinic or abortion provider. The appointment will take place either at a clinic or on the phone. The abortion will not happen at this appointment.

What happens at a clinic appointment

At a clinic appointment, you'll usually:

have an STI (sexually transmitted infections) test and a blood test
have an ultrasound scan to find out your stage of pregnancy
talk through your abortion options
learn more about the risks or complications of abortion
arrange to speak to a specially trained counsellor if you want to

What happens at a phone appointment

At a phone appointment, you'll speak to a nurse or midwife about your health and situation. This helps them find out what abortion treatment is suitable and safe for you.

If they need to confirm your stage of pregnancy, you may need to go and have an ultrasound scan before having the abortion.

If you're less than 10 weeks pregnant, you may be able to have an abortion at home by taking medicine (medical abortion).

After the first appointment

After the first appointment you'll either be sent abortion medicine to take at home, or you'll have another appointment at a hospital or clinic to have the abortion.

The abortion usually happens within 1 week of your first appointment.

You can change your mind at any time up to the start of the abortion.

Sexual Health Advice

Throughout this series we have help and advice on staying healthy, dealing with Sexually Transmitted Infections, the risks of each type of the most popular gay sex and what to do if the sex you have is not consentual. The topics covered in this series include:

	This item was in brought to you association with NHS website. Follow the links above for more information and don't forget to check out OutUK's A to Z of Gay Health which features items on everything from relationships, sexual health, mental and physical conditions and how to stay fit. This week our topic is: L - Lung Cancer.
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