At-home abortion, also known as self-managed abortion and Plan C, is being touted as “safe” and allowing a woman to oversee her health care. However, taking any drugs, including abortion pills, without a physician’s supervision is unwise due to potential risks and side effects.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only approves the abortion pill (which is made up of two different drugs: mifeprex and misoprostol) when prescribed and dispensed by health care professionals. The agency also warns people to not order these drugs over the internet.
Why is that? Simple: because complications can occur.
Potential Risks
The abortion pill is typically used when a woman is 10 weeks or less along in her pregnancy. Although many women believe they know how far along they are, the only certain way to know is through ultrasound.
If you take the abortion pill thinking you’re only five or six weeks along and you’re 12 or 13 weeks, the abortion pill may not work. The further you are in your pregnancy the higher the risks for dangerous complications when you take abortion drugs. Medical complications can result if you are further along than 10 weeks gestation. These include an incomplete abortion (retaining parts of the pregnancy) which can lead to infection or uterine rupture, which can cause severe bleeding, scarring in the uterus, even death. Another potential risk: You could have an ectopic pregnancy, which means the pregnancy is in the fallopian tube, not the uterus. An ectopic pregnancy can be life-threatening. Our nurses have discovered ectopic pregnancies when performing ultrasounds at True Care.
An ultrasound ensures you have all the information you need to make an informed decision regarding the outcome of your pregnancy, including if you’re experiencing an ectopic pregnancy or a natural miscarriage. Anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of pregnancies end in natural miscarriage. Should you be experiencing that, there’s no reason to spend money on abortion pills.
There are other risks to buying abortion pills online without an evaluation by a physician. Some women experience health issues that can affect how they respond to the two abortion pills. If you have certain allergies or bleeding disorders, for example, you can experience added complications when taking these drugs. Cramping and heavy bleeding are common effects of the medication, and if you already have bleeding issues, taking them can lead to dangerous levels of blood loss.
Where Do Online Abortion Drugs Come From?
If a woman orders mifeprex and misoprostol online, she doesn’t know where the drugs come from nor does she know what she is actually getting. Those that advertise online are from outside the United States because selling and buying abortion pills online is illegal here. Therefore, there is no control over what you’re actually receiving – perhaps a lower-grade version that may or may not work, perhaps a fake drug – therefore, a woman takes a huge risk by not seeing a health care professional.
Be Empowered
Learn more about the abortion pill, the potential risks of an at-home abortion, and your choices regarding your pregnancy at this website: https://www.athomeabortionfacts.com/.
If you have experienced a medical abortion within the past 72 hours and regret that decision, you may have options. True Care offers abortion pill reversal, using progesterone to try to save a pregnancy after taking abortion drugs. Reach out to one of our nurses for more information.
If you’re experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, before ordering abortion pills online or traveling out-of-state for a medical or surgical abortion, make your free appointment at True Care. Our professionally trained nurses provide answers to three important questions: 1) Am I really pregnant? 2) How far along am I? 3) Do I have an STD? The answers to these medical questions, along with relevant pregnancy options education, empower you to make an informed decision regarding your pregnancy.