What are Abortion Pills

“Abortion pill” is the common name for using two different medicines to end a pregnancy. Two abortion pills are commonly used for medical abortion and have been authorized by the FDA for use in the first 70 days (10 weeks) of pregnancy: mifepristone and misoprostol. The combination of mifepristone and misoprostol is the most common regimen used in the U.S. but internationally, some countries just use misoprostol alone. Note that dispensing these pills for pregnancy termination is now banned in some states. Other medications such as carboprost, hemabate, or oxytocin, may also be used during pregnancy termination. Medication abortion successfully ends pregnancy in 99.6% of cases, with a 0.4% risk of major complications and a mortality rate of less than 0.001% (0.00064%).

How effective is the abortion pill?

The abortion pill is very effective. If you’re taking mifepristone and misoprostol, it depends on how far along the pregnancy is, and how many doses of medicine you take. At 8 weeks pregnant or less, it works about 94-98% of the time. At 8-9 weeks pregnant, it works about 94-96% of the time. At 9-10 weeks pregnant, it works about 91-93% of the time. If you take an extra dose of misoprostol, it works about 99% of the time. At 10-11 weeks pregnant, it works about 87% of the time. If you take an extra dose of misoprostol, it works about 98% of the time. In general, taking both mifepristone and misoprostol works a bit better than taking misoprostol only. Taking misoprostol alone works to end the pregnancy about 85-95% of the time — depending on how far along the pregnancy is and how you take the medicine. The abortion pill usually works, but if it doesn’t, you can take more medicine or have an in-clinic abortion.

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This service is a safe and legal way to end a pregnancy before 10 weeks gestation without needing to attend a clinic for treatment. You will have a telephone consultation and full medical assessment with a trained nurse or midwife who will assess your suitability for treatment. If treatment is suitable and safe, you will receive abortion pills by post a few days later, or we can book you for an alternative treatment in clinic. Sometimes a scan or other in-clinic checks are required before treatment.