Everything You Wish You Didn't Have to Know About the Abortion Pills/Medication Abortion
- Stephani Evans
- Aug 16
- 6 min read
Do you remember in 2022 when Roe v. Wade was overturned, and finally the gloves were off in the states, allowing many to outlaw or greatly restrict abortion for the first time in almost 50 years? Well, some people don’t realize that abortions haven’t gone down since then, they’ve gone up.
The number of abortions occurring in the United States increased by 21% from 2020 to 2024. The Guttmacher Institute (a pro-abortion organization which aims to track abortion) offers several explanations as to why this is, (including increased financial funds and cross-state travel), but access to “medication abortion” via telehealth is the most likely culprit. According to the same organization, more than 60% of abortions were done via the abortion pill in 2023, making up the majority of abortions.
The confusion surrounding medication abortion - what it is, how it works, what it means for the pro-life movement - is enormous. This article is your need-to-know overview of the facts of the abortion pill.
How Does The Abortion Pill Work?
The abortion pill, or a medication or chemical abortion, is actually a series of two pills which are taken 1-2 days apart.
The first pill which the mother takes contains mifepristone (also called RU-486), which is a drug that binds to the progesterone receptors in the mother’s body, preventing the developing fetus from receiving progesterone.
(What is progesterone? Progesterone is a hormone naturally produced by a woman’s body primarily during the second half of her cycle. When conception occurs, progesterone levels begin rising steadily in order to support a healthy pregnancy. Progesterone is primarily responsible for the build up of the uterine lining, which provides oxygen and nutrients to the developing baby. It also plays a number of other important roles during pregnancy, including changing the mother’s immune system to prevent her body from attacking her baby’s body as a foreign invader, and preparing a mother’s breast tissue for lactation.)
Once the mother has ingested mifepristone, the uterine lining begins to break down due to the mother’s progesterone receptors no longer able to receive progesterone. This kills or weakens the fetus by depriving him or her of oxygen and nutrients.
TLDR - Pill 1: Baby is killed
Having taken mifepristone, the mother then takes the next pill, which contains misoprostol. This drug causes cervical softening and stimulates strong contractions of the uterus, which expels the fetus and tissue.
TLDR - Pill 2: Baby is expelled from the mother’s body
History of the Abortion Pill and Accessibility
The abortion pill regimen involving mifepristone and misoprostol was first approved by the FDA in 2000 for up to seven weeks gestation. This was increased to ten weeks gestation in 2016. However, the drugs are often used “off-label” later in pregnancy.
Since 2021, in-person visits have not been required in order for a woman to obtain a prescription for abortion pills, and the pills can currently be sent by mail. While some state laws do require an in-person visit or have banned the pill altogether, the drugs are still extremely easy to obtain in all states. There are even websites which allow people to obtain pills “just in case”, meaning a woman does not even need to be pregnant in order to receive them. Despite a court case attempting to stop the distribution of the abortion pill across the country, mail-order access remains in place at this time, awaiting a final decision from the Supreme Court.
Complication Rates of the Abortion Pills
It is difficult to ascertain a true rate of adverse events (hemorrhaging, retained fetal tissue, infection, etc.) caused by the abortion pills, as those who provide the pills are not required to report adverse events. In addition, there is evidence that women who do experience complications are instructed to lie if they go to the emergency room and claim that a natural miscarriage is occurring, which would skew results. There is also very poor tracking by the CDC of the causes of maternal deaths (i.e. we know how many maternal deaths happen, but not what caused them).
The FDA states that less than 0.5% of women taking the abortion pills will experience adverse reactions. However, a study examining insurance claims of more than 800,000 prescriptions of mifepristone found that more than 10% of women experience serious adverse events (hemorrhaging, infection, sepsis, etc). Based on the ambiguity of reporting and the lack of medical oversight for these drugs, it is difficult to ascertain the true rate of adverse events related to the abortion pills.
The Dangers of Unfettered Access to the Abortion Pill
Although pro-choice advocates like to tout the overwhelming safety of the abortion pill (claiming that it is safer than Tylenol, a claim easily debunked), the safety studies which they reference (such as the FDA’s safety data), took place under controlled conditions, with medical oversight. But this medical oversight no longer exists.
In a podcast episode with Lila Rose, the head of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), Dr. Christina Francis, pointed out that “There is zero interaction, in most cases, with any kind of medical professional” before abortion pills are received by mail.
To demonstrate this, she reported conducting an experiment through Aid Access, a large supplier of the abortion pills, in which she accessed the website and pretended to be a 13-year old girl with multiple contraindications for taking the abortion pill.
These contraindications included:
Not knowing how far along she was in pregnancy (with a guess of about 12 weeks)
A history of ectopic pregnancy (the abortion pill can be life-threatening if taken in the case of an ectopic pregnancy
Having an IUD in place (a contraindication for the abortion pill because it increases risk of ectopic pregnancy
Being on blood thinners
Having had three previous C-sections
Although this hypothetical 13-year old was given pop-up warnings on this website, her case was immediately approved by a “medical professional,” and she received the pills in her mailbox within three days. Not only this, but the pills also contained instructions telling this hypothetical 13-year old to lie and pretend that she was having a natural miscarriage if she were to be admitted into the emergency room.
In other words, there was no medical oversight exists on who can obtain these pills. Even from the “pro-choice” perspective, this should never be acceptable. This not only presents a significant safety risk for mothers (in addition to destroying the lives of thousands of the preborn), but it allows acquaintances to obtain pills which can then be given to women by force, removing any form of “choice” that might have existed.
Some Nuance
Something else important to note is that mifepristone and misoprostol may also be prescribed to women who have experienced a natural, first trimester miscarriage in order to aid the body’s process of expelling the deceased fetus. Even though the baby has already died, taking mifepristone in combination with misoprostol appears to result in better outcomes than taking misoprostol alone. The use of these drugs to manage a natural miscarriage may serve as a source of confusion between the definition of abortion and miscarriage, (a line that is frequently blurred by pro-abortion advocates). Ironically, these drugs typically have far more oversight when used to manage a miscarriage.
Common Questions
Do Some Women See Their Babies After Taking the Second Pill?
Yes. You can find plenty of stories of women who report seeing their deceased baby after taking the second set of pills. This is more likely the further along in pregnancy a woman is.
Do abortion pills get into our water supply and/or harm the environment?
There have been some claims by various groups that mifepristone is now contaminating our water supply and the environment due to the rise in the use of the abortion pill. There are some differences and nuances to these claims, but overall, there does not appear to be much evidence to support this. Here’s an article from Secular Pro-Life which breaks down these claims and examines the many variables often left out of these claims.
What Happens if We Ban Mifepristone?
Although it is not commonly used in the United States at this time, abortions using only misoprostol are available and will likely become the standard if mifepristone is ever banned. In other words, efforts to ban mifepristone are unlikely to halt mail-order abortion in and of themselves.
What is Abortion Pill Reversal?
After the mother has taken the first pill (mifepristone) and BEFORE she has taken the second pill (misoprostol), high amounts of progesterone can be prescribed in an attempt to save her baby’s life. If high amounts of progesterone are introduced, they will begin to out-compete mifepristone and begin the process of nourishing the baby once more. Success rates vary, and research is based on relatively small sample sizes, but babies can be saved using this protocol 64-68% of the time, with no increased risk of birth defects observed. Despite claims to the contrary, progesterone is not a fringe or experimental treatment. In fact, it is often prescribed in order to prevent miscarriages, and as part of fertility treatments during In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
The sooner a mother receives abortion pill reversal treatment, the higher the chance her baby can be saved. Here is the website for abortion pill reversal along with their hotline:
1-877-558-0333
Comments