It’s sad news for all Australians — especially for women of reproductive age — that the Tabbot Foundation is closing its national telehealth medical abortion service.

Since its launch in 2015, the organisation founded by gynaecologist Dr Paul Hyland had offered more than 6000 Australian women, mostly in regional and remote areas, the chance to access a safe and affordable medical abortion.

However, the strain of offering 24-hour care, seven days a week, plus the difficulty of making even a modest income in the end became too much. And sadly, the abortion phone service is no more.

As a GP with a special interest in reproductive health, I offer abortion by Skype. My first patient was an African refugee, speaking to me on her friend’s smartphone on the steps of a caravan park in western Queensland.