UBC student develops website to help Canadians choose abortion procedure

A University of British Columbia (UBC) PhD student developed an interactive website to help people identify abortion options.

Kate Wahl in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine, says ‘It’s my Choice’ helps people choose between two available options — the abortion pill and the abortion procedure.

“The reason we designed this tool is because historically, in Canada, abortion has been procedural, it happens in a clinic or a hospital,” she said.

Wahl says since 2017, there’s a second option, the abortion pill. She says ever since there has been this easily prescribable option, it is hard for people to understand how it works.

Her website helps guide people to know what’s best suited for them according to their values, preferences, and circumstances.

Wahl says it’s important for her that this tool helps raise awareness about the Canadian medical system.

“A lot of people might seek abortion care, but don’t actually know what the medical options are or don’t realize they can access it in primary care,” she said.

She says one of the primary benefits is knowing the location of where someone can get an abortion.

“Having your abortion closer to home, which many people really value,” she said. “Do you prefer to go to a clinic or a hospital? Do you prefer to have your abortion care at home?”

Wahl says the tool also helps people decide if they want to have a companion with them during the emotionally challenging procedure, whether they want to avoid pain and bleeding, and how much time they would want to take off for recovery.

“Just helping people understand the differences between the options, and find one that’s right for them,” she said.

Wahl tells CityNews that before the abortion pill became available most abortions were being offered in hospitals, which are mainly in big cities.

“If you live outside of big cities in rural and remote areas, or even smaller towns, there’s a barrier to access abortion care — in terms of travel,” she said. “Now that we have this medical option, people who feel that option is aligned with their preferences can get the care closer to home.”

“With the advent of telemedicine in the pandemic, parts of that care can be done virtually so potentially your first appointment or your follow-up can be done [online],” she said.

Wahl says there are other barriers like age, gender, and language that can stop someone from getting the abortion care that they need.

“There’s more work to be done to advance those… We’ve also tried to tackle those with this tool, for example translating it into French, Mandarin, and Punjabi so it’s accessible to more people,” she said.

Wahl tells CityNews that ‘It’s My Choice’ was developed in partnership with healthcare providers, and people who had a history of or are potentially trying to receive abortion care.

“That was integral to our process, to understand both what patients and healthcare providers need,” she said. “What we heard from potential patients was that they valued the information that was presented describing both the options, especially for folks who didn’t know as much about the medication option.”

She says potential users valued that the tool was interactive, and healthcare providers felt it was useful to fill out before attending an appointment.

“The last thing that happened as you navigate the tool, there’s a summary page so patients can come to an appointment with it,” she said. “That’s a good jumping-off point for a conversation between, say, a family doctor and a person seeking abortion care.”