Five Myths About Abortion Pills

Even though abortion with pills has been a thing for more than 20 years, there’s still so much misinformation floating around about it that you’d think it was just invented yesterday. So sit down and let us pour you the tea.

Myth: Self-managed abortion with pills is dangerous.

Truth: Millions of people around the world have used abortion pills to end a pregnancy of up to 10 weeks safely without a clinician. Serious complications are extremely rare, and the medications have no long-term effects.

Myth: Abortion pills and emergency contraception are the same thing.

Truth: Nope! They’re different medications, they’re taken differently, and they do different things: one ends a pregnancy and the other prevents a pregnancy from happening.

Myth: Medication abortions can be reversed halfway through.

Truth: A person should not take abortion pills unless they’re certain they want to end their pregnancy, because all the science says that medication abortions are not reversible.

Myth: If abortion pills don’t work the first time, the person has to continue the pregnancy.

Truth: Mifepristone and misoprostol together are effective 95% to 98% of the time, and misoprostol alone is effective up to 85% of the time, but that means that a small percentage of people do remain pregnant after taking abortion pills. If they can get more pills, they can wait three days and then repeat the process. They can also go to a clinic and have a medical abortion.

Myth: A healthcare professional can tell when someone has ended a pregnancy by using abortion pills.

Truth: There’s no way to tell the difference between a miscarriage caused by medication and one that happened spontaneously, as long as the person takes the pills properly and makes sure they didn’t leave behind any residue. In the rare event a person needs to seek follow-up care but doesn’t feel like they can trust the doctor, they can just say that they think they’re miscarrying, or even that they’re bleeding and they don’t know why.

Ready for more facts? We’ve got lots to share! Find us online at AbortionPillInfo.org, or download the Euki reproductive health app, now available in English and Spanish for iOS and Android.