Are you looking for a simple way to terminate your pregnancy without the expense of surgical abortion? If so, you may be thinking about the abortion pill. It can now be ordered online in the U.S. and worldwide without medical supervision and delivered to your home. Taking the pill at home may seem like an easy solution to an unwanted pregnancy. What’s the catch? Turns out ordering online can be sketchy. Protect yourself. Learn how to spot red flags from at-home abortion.
If you didn’t answer YES to ALL five questions, read on to learn more before you order abortion medications online.
There are two main categories of abortion methods:
is a surgical intervention that terminates a pregnancy by detaching and removing the developing embryo from the uterus (1). It is performed by an M.D. or abortion provider in a doctor’s office, clinic, or operating room. Two of the most common types of surgical abortion are suction, or vacuum aspiration, and dilation and evacuation (D&E).
The abortion pill, or chemical abortion, involves taking two oral medications in early pregnancy (2).
First, you take oral mifepristone (Mifeprex). This causes the lining of the uterus to thin and prevents the embryo from staying implanted and growing. An M.D. or health care provider usually administers the first pill.
Next, immediately or up to two days later you take the second oral medication called misoprostol. The second pill causes the uterus to contract and expel the embryo through the vagina. Your doctor will follow up with you during and after the abortion process, which can take from five hours to a week or more.
An At-home abortion with abortion pills from the internet is riskier than pills mailed from your physician or an abortion clinic. It’s riskier because you don’t have medical supervision and follow-up. It’s also riskier because you don’t know about the quality, effectiveness, or identity of the pills. (Two pills are standard, but some online services only provide one pill.)
At-Home Abortion is less expensive than surgical abortion and may seem more convenient. In theory, you can experience the process at home and order the pills confidentially online.
Since you get the pills by mail and take them while you relax in bed or on the couch, you may think of this as a DIY project. DIY is a popular trend right now. It’s a fun way to highlight your hair or create new clothes at home, but it is not the best idea for managing a medical procedure. Chemical abortion can last for weeks and is usually associated with intense pain, nausea, vomiting, and heavy bleeding. Since it takes so long, it’s impossible to predict where you will be when intense bleeding and pain occur.
You need accurate information and answers to these questions before choosing an at-home abortion:
How far along am I?
If you took a home pregnancy test, it’s important to verify your pregnancy and due date with accurate, professional pregnancy testing..
“If a woman thinks she’s 10 weeks pregnant but is 13 weeks, she’s just increased her risk from one in 20 to one in three that a Medication Abortion will cause adverse events such as heavy bleeding, hemorrhaging or a painful, incomplete abortion and possible surgical intervention.” Donna Harrison, M.D. and author states (c).
NAME OF CENTER provides free pregnancy testing and ultrasound to determine the age and viability of your pregnancy.
Not in the CITY/STATE area? Find your local medical pregnancy help center through optionline or CareNet.
A small percentage of pregnancies develop abnormally in the fallopian tubes (4) rather than the uterus. This is known as an ectopic pregnancy and one in 40 pregnancies is ectopic. When you have an ultrasound scan to determine how many weeks of pregnancy you are we’ll also check that your pregnancy is growing in your uterus. Without an ultrasound scan, it’s impossible to know if the pregnancy is growing normally in the uterus.
If you take abortion pills with an ectopic pregnancy, you may think that the intense pain and bleeding are from a normal medication abortion. More likely, it’s from a rupture of the fallopian tube. Some women taking the abortion pill have died from unrecognized, rupturing ectopic pregnancies (5). They present dangerous risks to a woman’s health if undetected.
Medical abortions performed without a prior ultrasound scan were more likely to be incomplete and require follow-up surgery, according to an article published in the journal Contraception (6).
If you take the first pill (mifepristone) and then change your mind about going through with the abortion, help is available. Please call (877) 558-0333 within 24 hours of taking either of the pills.
“Abortion pill reversal protocol was created to assist women who have taken mifepristone and would like to continue their pregnancies. However, we receive calls from women who have taken both mifepristone and misoprostol. We have protocols to help them as well.”
– Says Christa Brown, BSN, RN, LAS of abortionpillreversal.com (10).
These medications prescribed for medical or non-surgical abortions come with reproductive risks. In fact, they are classified as hazardous medications by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (11). The meds should be disposed of properly.
Sources: Mayo Clinic (12) and FDA (5)
“Abortion is a medical intervention and taking pills at home doesn’t change the magnitude of the intervention a woman is undertaking—and now she’s doing it all alone.” Dr. George Delgado, M.D., F.A.A.F.P. (13)
Risks or complications from medication abortion:
Most people who get the first pill, mifepristone will report adverse reactions (21). And “About 90% of patients report adverse reactions” after taking the second pill, misoprostol (21).
“Side effects include more heavy bleeding than a heavy menstrual period, abdominal pain, uterine cramping, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.” (21).
A study, published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, (14) followed abortion outcomes in Finland. (They chose Finland because all pregnancy outcomes are accurately documented there). The study compares the risk of complications following both surgical and medication abortions (referred to as chemical):
A study, published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, (14) followed abortion outcomes in Finland. (They chose Finland because all pregnancy outcomes are accurately documented there). The study compares the risk of complications following both surgical and medication abortions (referred to as chemical):
The overall risk of an adverse event following an abortion
Chemical = 20% of patients (1 of 5)
Hemorrhage Risk
Chemical = 15.6% (1 in 6)
Surgical = 2.1% (1 in 50)
Incomplete Abortion Risk
Chemical = 6.7% (1 in 15)
Surgical = 1.6% (1 in 60)
Emergency Surgery Risk
Chemical = 5.9% (1 in 15)
Surgical = 1.8% (1 in 60)
Medication abortion has also caused:
Since many adverse events happen at home, they are underreported. There are discrepancies in the reporting of adverse events (17) from the abortion pill by abortion providers. Headlines shout the abortion pill is “Safer than Tylenol” (18). However, in the best of cases, there is pain, cramping, and bleeding for a day to weeks after taking the abortion pill. The worst cases involve hemorrhaging, incomplete abortion, and emergency surgery.
In December 2019, partially in response to COVID-19 restrictions, the FDA permanently lifted a major restriction on access to abortion pills (19). This allows patients to receive the medication by mail instead of in person from certified health providers.
While this makes it easier for you to have access to the abortion pill, it also opens the door for online services not certified by the FDA to provide abortion access over the internet. Some of these online services are not pharmacies and are operating in other countries. Please beware of purchasing the abortion pill online. Use an online pharmacy you’re familiar with, and check that they meet the FDA qualifications (5) as a health care provider.
Do Not Buy Mifeprex or its Approved Generic Over the Internet
Why not? Because you will bypass important safeguards designed to protect your health.
Mifeprex and its approved generic have special safety restrictions on how it is distributed to the public. Also, drugs purchased from foreign Internet sources are not the FDA-approved versions of drugs. They are not subject to FDA-regulated manufacturing controls or FDA inspection (2).
To learn more about buying drugs safely, please see Buying Prescription Medicines Online: A Consumer Safety Guide [PDF] (20).
Whatever your decision on at-home abortion, take advantage of the support available to you. You may have more questions like the ones listed below. If so, please reach out to us or any of the resources listed below. It’s your choice to protect your body and your reproductive health.