If you’re pregnant and considering abortion, you are not alone. We provide care for everyone who can, or has, become pregnant – whatever their gender.
BPAS provides services to trans, non-binary and intersex people – we strive to deliver patient-centred care which meets the needs of every individual who needs us.
We are here for you. If there is anything that you would like us to know which will support your care with us, for instance your pronouns, please call the Booking Line rather than completing the online booking request.
Currently, if your pregnancy is under 10 weeks gestation and you are clinically eligible, we may be able to offer you treatment at home following a telemedical consultation with a healthcare professional. We know this option can be preferable for those for whom clinic attendance may be challenging.
Our Advisors will be able to answer your questions and record any information you want to share with us within the BPAS system. You can find out more about our client confidentiality policies below.
We understand you may have some questions about the services we provide, so we’ve provided answers to the most common questions below. If you need any more information, please do contact our Bookings and Information line on 03457 30 40 30.
BPAS does not inform anybody about your treatment unless you give us explicit permission or we are required to in order to comply with a legal obligation, or have a medical or safety reason to do so – in which case we will discuss this with you in advance.
You can read more about client confidentiality and how we use your health records here.
If you have any questions about your treatment, including whether it may impact on any other medication you are taking, please discuss this during your consultation.
In order to ensure that we provide you with safe and effective abortion care, it is important that you tell us about any medications you are taking - whether this is prescribed by your GP or endocrinologist, or not.
Contraception is recommended if you:
- Are a trans man or non-binary person; and
- Have not undergone hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy (removal of both fallopian tubes and ovaries); and
- Are having vaginal sex but do not wish to conceive.
If you’re receiving testosterone therapy, this treatment does not provide contraceptive protection, and there is some evidence that it may cause fetal abnormalities if you become pregnant while taking it.
There are many contraceptive methods available which do not interfere with hormone therapy, and you can talk to us, your doctor or sexual health clinics about what would be most suited to your needs. Methods of contraception that contain estrogen, such as combined pills, patches or the vaginal ring is not recommend for use by trans men and non-binary people undergoing testosterone treatment. This is because the estrogen hormone will counteract the masculinising effects of testosterone.
If you have had unprotected vaginal sex and are concerned about becoming pregnant, you can access emergency hormonal contraception or an emergency (copper) IUD.
We understand that some body parts have deeply gendered associations, and that some of our clients feel uncomfortable in using or unable to use certain terms.
BPAS uses clinical language for clarity, but we are responsive to our clients’ needs. If you have specific words that you would rather we use when undertaking your consultation or treatment, please share this with us during your consultation.
Our client materials mostly use clinical or medical terms to support our clients through the abortion process. You will, however, see the word woman in our general materials, where it is used as a term that is meaningful and accessible to most of our clients.
We understand that this language may be a barrier to some clients with differing gender identities and are in the process of developing more tailored materials for individual client groups so we can be sure we are meeting the needs of all our clients, whatever their gender.
If you have booked an appointment with us and there is anything in our literature you’re unsure about, do discuss that with us during your consultation.
Not yet.
We are in the process of designing a specialised routine care pathway for trans and non-binary clients. If you would like to share your thoughts about how your care could be improved or what you would like to see in this pathway, please do include your comments in your client feedback survey after your treatment.
Whether you feel able to respond to the survey or not, please be assured we will be continuing the development of this pathway in line with best practice to ensure the best experience for all our clients.
Thank you very much for your help and support. I really appreciate your kindness during this difficult time.