Rijal, Nished2025-12-042025-12-042025-12-04http://hdl.handle.net/10393/51150https://doi.org/10.20381/ruor-31597Of the nearly 56 million abortions that take place each year, 45.1% are either “unsafe” or “less safe” and almost all of these abortions take place in the Global South. Nepal liberalized its abortion laws in 2002. Nepalese women can obtain an abortion, without restriction as to the reason, through 12 weeks of gestation. In 2009, the government of Nepal introduced medication abortion through a combination of misoprostol and mifepristone permissible up to 63 days of pregnancy to be available free of charge at designated government health centers. Since its introduction, medication abortion has gained wide acceptance with over two-thirds (72%) of Nepalese women primarily using medicines to induce an abortion. However, even after more than two decades of legalization, access to abortion services in Nepal remains limited and disproportionate. Less than half of all abortions occur in government-approved facilities. The majority take place clandestinely, performed by an untrained provider and/or in an unapproved facility or induced by the pregnant woman herself. Pharmacies in Nepal are authorized to stock and dispense medication abortion drugs with a clinician’s prescription however, pharmacy workers are discouraged from directly prescribing or dispensing these medications. Despite this, pharmacies often serve as the first point of contact for individuals seeking abortion-related information and services. In fact, pharmacies account for 19% of all abortion care received by women in Nepal. This thesis aims to explore the current landscape of pharmacy-based medication abortion services in Nepal. Using mixed methods study, this thesis examines the knowledge, practices, and services surrounding medication abortion in pharmacy settings in Nepal, with a specific focus on user experiences.enAttribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/AbortionNepalPharmacyThesis