Medication Abortion

Even if you are using birth control, accidents can happen and nothing but abstinence is 100% safe. An unwanted pregnancy may be one such accident. If you don't want to have or keep the baby, you may consider adoption or abortion. Your decision may be affected by your personal and religious beliefs, your knowledge of and experience in sexual matters, and information you have or will receive regarding your pregnancy. But no matter what, that decision is yours to make. In order to maximize your options, make sure you find out as soon as possible if you are pregnant or not.

There are two abortion options: medication or surgical. The medication option is the easiest and involves taking 2 pills over the course of 2-3 days, but needs to be done within 9 weeks of the first day of your last period. You will need to confirm your pregnancy at the clinic or with your health care provider in order to get a medication abortion.

Procedure: There are two pills to take, then a follow up visit with the doctor afterwards to ensure that the pregnancy has been terminated. If the medication abortion failed, then an surgical abortion will need to be done to complete the process. The medication abortion works 97 out of 100 times.

The first pill stops progesterone and causes your uterus to break down. The 2nd pill is taken within 3 days of the 1st and it causes the uterus to empty. The 2nd pill will probably cause cramping and bleeding that usually lasts for a few hours, and bleeding and spotting that can last up to 4 weeks.

For more complete information, please take a look at the Planned Parenthood webpage on medication abortions and make sure to review all the questions at the bottom and expand for the complete answers.