Where Do Abortion Pills Come From?

A person who’s decided to have a medication abortion has to get abortion pills. The most obvious way to do that is by going through a clinic. Since abortion pills now account for more than half of all abortions in the US, most clinics offer them as an option.

But people who can’t easily get to a clinic, or who live in a state that restricts or bans abortion may have to look elsewhere. Here’s some information about other ways a person might get mifepristone and misoprostol, or misoprostol alone:

• A person could visit the Plan C website, look up the state where they live in the abortion pill finder, and search under “self-managed options.” That will provide a list of online programs and sites that provide reliable abortion pills, including the cost and estimated amount of time it will take to receive the pills by mail. People in states with abortion restrictions may need a strategy to make sure the pills reach them.

• A person might also search for online pharmacies that sell combination packs of mifepristone and misoprostol together. This might include reading an October 2017 study that reviewed abortion pills bought from multiple online sources and rated how reliable the sources were and whether they sent legitimate, usable medications.

• In the US, misoprostol is a prescription drug that is available in pharmacies, most commonly as a treatment to prevent people with conditions like arthritis from getting ulcers when they  take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) long-term.

• Misoprostol is also available from some internet veterinary supply stores and veterinarians, because it is used to treat ulcers and arthritis in dogs, cats, and horses. Animal breeders also use it to control animal pregnancies.

• Online pharmacies in Canada sell misoprostol inexpensively, and some reportedly don’t require a prescription.

• Misoprostol is available over the counter in pharmacies in Mexico and many other Latin American countries, often under the brand names of Cyrux and Cytotec. 

It’s important to be aware of the legal risks of obtaining abortion pills, which vary by location, and to keep one’s browsing private and secure.

Get accurate, up-to-date information about abortion with pills (and lots more!) at AbortionPillInfo.org and on the Euki reproductive health app, now available in English and Spanish for iOS and Android. And check out our Facebook page!