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Medication Abortion, also known as non-surgical abortion, is one way for patients to terminate early pregnancies. Please see Medication vs. Surgical Abortion for a comparison of the two techniques.
Patients can terminate early pregnancies (first trimester) with a medication or a combination of medications. At the Comprehensive Reproductive Health Center, the medications we prescribe for medication abortion are Mifeprex (Mifepristone) and Misoprostol (Cytotec).
Mifepristone blocks the action of the natural hormone progesterone on the uterus. This causes the lining of the uterus to shed as it does during a period and stops the growth of the pregnancy. A medication abortion results when Mifepristone is combined with misoprostol.
Misoprostol is a drug that is used with mifepristone for medication abortion. It causes the uterus to contract, pushing out the pregnancy. Misoprostol also causes bleeding and cramping.
Medication abortion involves at least two visits to a doctor’s office or clinic. The treatment includes giving the medication and then confirming that the pregnancy termination was successful. Sometimes more than two visits are necessary.
Day 1: Office visit for exam and counseling; take 200 mg (1 tablet) of mifepristone.
Day 2, 3, or 4: At home, place four tablets of misoprostol in your vagina.
Day 7 – 14: Final visit to the office to confirm that the abortion is complete via ultrasound.
If the abortion is not complete, follow-up visits may be scheduled.
Medication abortion is not the same as emergency contraception (EC), also called the “morning after pill.” Emergency contraception prevents a pregnancy from occurring. Once pregnancy has occurred, EC is no longer effective. When a pregnancy has occurred, medication abortion is used to terminate the unwanted pregnancy.
Medication abortion can be performed from 5 weeks 4 days to 10 weeks 6 days* from their last menstrual period. Some insurance companies limit coverage of medication abortion to pregnancies of seven weeks or less.
*Information provided on this website is for general purposes only. All decisions about eligibility for abortion care will be made after consultation with a healthcare provider.
In clinical practice, medication abortion is about 95 percent to 98 percent effective. This means that the medications cause the patient to completely pass the pregnancy without the use of surgery. Early surgical abortion, usually done by aspiration, is effective 98 percent of the time.
Mifepristone has been studied for over twenty years. Millions of patients in more than 20 countries (including the U.S.) have used mifepristone and misoprostol (or similar medications) to have an abortion. All studies have shown the method to be safe and effective. There have been no reports of any long-term risks. Heavy bleeding requiring blood transfusion is extremely rare (less than 0.5 percent).
Short-term side effects may include:
There is no evidence of long-term risks with mifepristone when used for medication abortion. No long-term effects have been associated with Misoprostol.
In more than 20 years of use, the risk of death by using medication abortion is less than one in 100,000 people, making it one of the safest medications available. In a large U.S. research trial, only four of the 2,000 patients (less than 0.5 percent) required any treatment as serious as a blood transfusion.
There are no indications that any of the early abortion methods affect fertility.
Little is known about the effect of mifepristone on a developing embryo. Misoprostol has been associated with birth defects when given in early pregnancy. Therefore, a patient should have a surgical abortion if a medication abortion fails.
Medication abortion is provided by trained health care providers in private office settings, family planning clinics, and hospitals.
Cost varies by clinic. Some providers charge similar rates for medication and surgical. Some insurance companies will cover the cost of a medical abortion (usually only if they would cover a surgical abortion). The Comprehensive Reproductive Health Center offers a self-payment option for both medical and surgical abortion.
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*Different clinics have different protocols for medication abortion. Read our Pre-Procedure Information to learn how and why our protocol differs from those described by other clinics and websites.
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