A new controversy could be in the offing as a web based clinic is offering drugs to carry out ‘do it yourself’ medical abortions through the use of registered medicines in countries where abortion is illegal.

The story was broken on the BBC's news website yesterday. Women on Web seems to have coined onto the successful business phrase Women on Waves, the abortion ship run by the controversial Dr Rebecca Gomperts. Unlike surgical abortions, this website (backed by medical doctors) will issue prescription drugs that will induce a miscarriage, but only if the woman concerned is not more than nine weeks pregnant.

The website will only post drugs to women if the country they live in classes abortion as being illegal. Malta is one of the countries that is listed on the website as a country where abortion is illegal.

The site says:- A medical abortion uses a combination of pills to cause the non-surgical termination of an early pregnancy up until the ninth week of pregnancy. The medical abortion requires the use of two different drugs. These medicines, called Mifeprisone, (also known as Mifepristone, RU486, RU or Mifeprex, the abortion pill or mifegyne) and Misoprostol (also known as Cytotec, Arthrotec or Oxaprost or Cyprostol, Cyprostoll or Misotrol) provoke the spontaneous expulsion of the pregnancy from the uterus.

Women on Web helps to create access to abortion services with abortion pills. This website acts as a referral service in forwarding information and request for a medical abortion service to a licensed doctor.

The website has a long list of Frequently Asked Questions, ranging from information about the drugs to after care, counselling, side effects, possible complications and many others. The site says that the risk of complications is very low.

However, the BBC quoted the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology's review of 400 customers which found nearly 11 per cent had needed a surgical procedure after taking the medication – either because the drugs had not completed the abortion or because of excessive bleeding.

The research into those who had used Women on Web found that about eight per cent did not end up using the medication they had ordered.

Almost 200 women answered questions about their experiences – 58 per cent said they were just grateful to have been able to have an abortion in this way, while 31 per cent had felt stressed but found the experience acceptable. The website says it can help reduce the problems linked with unsafe abortions.

The Malta Medicines Authority said that the two active ingredients are not registered in Malta (and therefore are not on sale). However, there were two drugs (used to treat peptic ulcers) that were on the market and were available over the counter. The makers have since withdrawn their applications to sell them off shelves in Malta.

The MMA said that if anyone wished to purchase such drugs off the internet, they could do so provided they were for personal use. However, they cannot do so if the specific use of the drug is listed as to induce abortion or miscarriage. In addition, if Customs realise that the package contains drugs, they will ask the person picking them up for a prescription.

The MMA highlighted the dangers of purchasing such drugs off the net as they would sometimes not be covered by desired standards. It also pointed out that such procedures were very dangerous as the abortions are induced by severe and heavy vaginal bleeding. The MMA also said that potential users needed to weigh up such a decision in the sense that if they do use the drugs and complications develop, they would have to go to hospital and face the consequences. Failure to obtain treatment can lead to death.

The MMA also said that the drugs induce abortion by bringing about very heavy vaginal bleeding. A spokesman said: "I cannot stress enough how dangerous these procedures can be. One does not carry out 'do it yourself' abortions. The procedure is very dangerous and can be fatal."