A postal abortion service that provided a 24-hour helpline and medical terminations to thousands of Australian women has closed shop after almost four years of operation.

The Tabbot Foundation, which posted abortion drugs to callers after screening them over the phone, reportedly shut down last week and will cease operating once the last of its patients has been treated.

The foundation’s medical director and founder, gynaecologist Dr Paul Hyland, says he is announcing the closure “with great regret and remorse”.

“For the first time in my life, I won’t have to be on-call 24 hours a day,” he told BuzzFeed Australia.