Medical Facts About Abortion
Abortion is a common health experience––one in four people who can get pregnant will have an abortion in their lifetime. Abortion is incredibly safe and commonplace, yet it remains mired in confusion and misinformation. Here, we break down some basic medical facts about abortion, to dispel myths and make abortion easy to understand.
What is an abortion?
An abortion is a procedure that ends a pregnancy. In the United States, the vast majority of abortions––93%--occur in the first trimester. There are two types of abortions-–medication abortion and procedural abortion.
A medication abortion is generally performed by a series of two medications: mifepristone, which ends the pregnancy, and misoprostol, which expels the pregnancy from the uterus. A medication abortion can begin in a clinic and be completed at home, or be completed entirely at home, via telehealth services or self-managed (see below).
Medication abortions account for more than half of all abortions in the U.S.
Medication abortions are approved to be performed by abortion providers up to 10 weeks.
Mifepristone has been approved by the FDA since 2000, and misoprostol is commonly used in both abortion care and miscarriage management.
Medication abortion can also be performed with just misoprostol. Rather than use a combination of mifepristone and misoprostol medications, the patient takes 12 doses of misoprostol, either vaginally, under the tongue, or in the mouth, between cheeks and gums.
A procedural abortion, sometimes called a surgical abortion (though that term is considered inaccurate because no surgery is involved), takes place in a clinic or medical facility, and is performed by a medical professional. Depending on how far along the pregnancy is, there are various kinds of procedural abortion. Most commonly, the provider uses medical instruments and suction to remove the pregnancy from the uterus through the vagina.
For first trimester abortions, the procedure usually takes no more than 10 minutes, though an appointment can be for several hours.
Some states require multiple visits to a provider before a patient can undergo an abortion, but this is not medically necessary to have an abortion. These requirements are political tools designed to make accessing an abortion more difficult and to delay care.
For abortions later in pregnancy (fewer than 1% of abortions happen after 21 weeks), the procedure can take up to two days.
How safe is abortion?
Abortion is 14 times safer than childbirth and has fewer complications than other outpatient procedures, like wisdom teeth removal, for example. Medical abortion is even safer than Tylenol!
How well does abortion work?
When done properly and safely, abortion is extremely effective. Medication abortion is most effective early in pregnancy. If done before 10 weeks pregnancy, it is 95% effective. Procedural abortions work more than 99% of the time.
How does abortion affect one’s health?
Not only are complications from abortion extremely rare, but it is safe regarding other health outcomes, as well.
Having an abortion does not cause an increase in infertility, breast cancer, or depression. According to recent research, the most common emotion experienced by people who’ve had an abortion is relief.
Research from the Turnaway Study, which tracked 1,000 people over the course of 10 years to study the effects of having––and being denied––an abortion found that having an abortion does not harm the health and wellbeing of pregnant people, but being denied an abortion results “in worse financial, health, and family outcomes.”
What is self-managed abortion?
Sometimes referred to as “self-induced abortion” or “DIY abortion,” a self-managed abortion is one in which a pregnant person terminates a pregnancy without clinical supervision of support. Pregnant people have been self-managing their abortions for centuries. Some methods were more safe than others, but today, medication abortion makes self-managing an abortion simpler and safer.
Today, self-managed abortion through pills (mifepristone and misoprostol) is a safe, effective way to terminate a pregnancy from home, without clinical involvement.