Abortion by pill is used in at least 54% of terminated pregnancies in the United States. The number has grown rapidly since the process became easier to access in 2016 and is anticipated to rise even higher if Roe v Wade is overturned.
The two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, are taken about two days apart. In many areas only a telemedicine visit is required to get them from a pharmacy. Cheaper and less invasive than a procedure abortion, when used within the first 10 weeks of gestation they safely terminated 99.6% of pregnancies with very low complication rates.
By 2020, the last year for which numbers are available, a full 54% of all abortions were done by pill, according to theIt's believed the figure is even higher now after the relaxation of federal restrictions in December 2021. In April 2021, the rules changed again when the FDA changed the requirements for an in-person visit temporarily, after the publication of data showing telemedicine visit plus mailed pills were safe.
While the process can be more painful than a procedural or aspiration abortion, for some people that also feels more natural."It's more like a miscarriage," said Ushma Upadhyay, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of California, San Francisco, who studies contraception and abortion care.
Containers of the medication used to end pregnancy sit on a table inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights, Illinois, in this file photo from Oct. 29, 2021.The process begins with a consultation with a medical professional. Once the patient is deemed eligible, the drugs are prescribed at a cost that typically ranges between $250 and $300.The first pill, mifepristone, acts to block the body's ability to absorb progesterone, a hormone that allows the pregnancy to grow.
Within a half-hour to a couple of hours, the misoprostol leads the cervix to dilate and the uterus to begin contracting, which empties the embryo from the uterus.
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