SMA Doesn’t Look Like a Horror Movie

One of the things we see a lot in online places where people ask questions about abortion is the notion that abortion pills aren’t working if the person using them isn’t screaming in pain and passing clots the size of softballs. Unfortunately, that false idea is so widespread that we also see people who have acquired the pills but are absolutely terrified to take them. We’ve even read questions from people who have already had children but are still scared that ending a pregnancy before 12 weeks will be more painful and bloody than giving birth!

Hint: it isn’t.

It’s likely that people are expecting medication abortion to be catastrophic because they’ve encountered misinformation meant to scare them into staying pregnant. To be fair, cramps and bleeding are a necessary part of the abortion process. What’s in the uterus has to come out. But using abortion pills definitely shouldn’t look like something out of a slasher flick.

If someone is completely soaking 2 maxi pads an hour for more than 2 hours, or in agony that pain medication doesn’t help, that calls for immediate medical attention. And those things aren’t likely to happen.

Remember: millions of people have used mifepristone and misoprostol or misoprostol alone to end a pregnancy safely. Only 1 in every 2000 have experienced complications – that’s fewer than people who use Tylenol or Viagra!

Learn more at AbortionPillInfo.org and on the Euki reproductive health app. Information is the best antidote to fear! Visit us on Facebook.