Taking the Abortion Pill
Whenever and wherever is most comfortable for you
Frequently Asked Questions & Information
You’re not alone. We’re here to help you feel comfortable and prepared to take your abortion pills.
What is the abortion pill?
Abortion pills are the same as a “Medication Abortion”. Taking abortion pills somewhere other than a clinic is commonly referred to as “Self Managed Abortion”. When we say “at home”, we recognize that many people do not take the pills in a home, but instead in a place that feels the most comfortable for them.
The “abortion pill” is usually actually 2 medications: Mifepristone (“Mife”) and Misoprostol (“Miso”). Sometimes people will take just Misoprostol for an abortion. Taking both medications or just Misoprostol are safe and effective ways of terminating a pregnancy. Both Mife and Miso are FDA approved medications.
More than half of abortions in the US are with abortion pills
Taking the abortion pill is safe, effective, and common. Someone can get abortion pills many ways, including online through the mail or in a clinic.
Are abortion pills safe?
Abortion pills are incredibly safe. In fact, they
are safer than taking Tylenol, Viagra, and
some antacids! Abortion pills have been around for decades and there is a lot of research proving that they are safe to use.
Where can I get abortion pills?
PlanCPills.com is great way to find out how to get abortion pills in all 50 states.
Are abortion pills legal?
It’s complicated, and depends on your state and gestational age (how far along in pregnancy you are). Each state has different laws around abortion. This means that it can be harder to find and access abortion pills in states that have more restrictions and bans on abortion. Accessing abortion pills is protected in Colorado.
If you are unsure of what your state laws are, or are interested in learning more, check out this resource on abortion laws by state.
Many doctors around the country are using laws in their home states called “shield laws” to legally mail abortion pills to people in states where abortion is restricted. Taking abortion pills in a state where abortion is restricted or banned does not necessarily mean that what you’re doing is illegal, however there may be risks. Please see our section below on keeping your information safe and private.
If you live in a state where abortion is banned and you’re interested in getting abortion pills, abortion funds like the Colorado Doula Project can help. Please reach out to us through our Abortion Support Network for help.
If you live in a state where abortion is banned, have taken abortion pills, and are concerned about your safety or have questions, please reach out to the Repro Legal Helpline or Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline.
Who can take the abortion pills?
Someone can likely take the abortion pill if:
They are under 13 weeks pregnant
(disclaimer: it is safe to take abortion pills at and past 13 weeks, but please consult a provider or doula before doing so. Many doctors will not provide abortion pills after 13 weeks)
They do not have an IUD
They do not have a history with ectopic pregnancy
They do not have any contraindicated medical conditions (providers should screen for these)
How can I make taking the abortion pills more comfortable?
Below are some steps to prepare for taking abortion pills to make it more comfortable.
We recognize that not all of these are possible for everyone. Everyone’s body is different any may have different needs or responses.
Stock up on all the things that you need to be comfortable
Below is a list of things that might help make an abortion pill experience more comfortable:
A heating pad, hot water bottle or microwavable rice sock
Ibuprofen (also called Advil or Motrin) or other pain medication
Plenty of hydrating liquids, including water and electrolytes
Sanitary napkins, maxi pads, or diapers
Pepto Bismol or other anti-nausea medicine, in case you get nauseous
Peppermint or ginger tea, in case you get nauseous
Baby wipes or soothing, medicated wipes
Have a support system
Misoprostol can cause pretty painful cramps. It can be helpful to have someone around to help bring water, make food, or be a support person through the discomfort.
We know that a lot of people do not have someone safe to help them through this process. If you need someone to talk to, please reach out to us through our Abortion Support Network for virtual doula support to talk through the process.
Have a safety plan
Less than 1% of people who take abortion pills will need to see a doctor for complications. Symptoms like intense cramping, nausea and vomiting, excessive bleeding, and passing of blood clots are normal when taking Misoprostol.
Signs that someone should talk to a medical professional or visit an emergency medical center are:
Bleeding through more than 2 maxi pads per hour for 2 consecutive hours (4 pads total)
Passing blood clots larger than a lemon
Fever that is not responding to medicine
If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, especially if you live in a state where abortion is banned, we recommend that you talk to the provider who gave you pills or call the Miscarriage + Abortion Hotline at 1-833-246-2632.
We recommend having a safety plan in case you need it. This includes:
Identifying your nearest 24-hour emergency medical center.
If you live in a rural area without a 24-hour medical center within a 45-minute drive, you may want to consider staying with a sympathetic friend or family member closer to a hospital
A plan to get to that emergency medical center. This should be a friend, partner, or rideshare–do not depend on yourself to drive.
Ambulance response times in your community.
They may be particularly slow if you live in a low-income urban area or a rural area.
What you will tell your doctors.
Drink lots of water and fluids
It is important for your health to stay hydrated when you take abortion pills!
Have a safe and comfortable place
When you take the Misoprostol, we recommend being in a safe place where you can lie down and rest for a couple hours or the entire day. We recommend taking off of work, if possible, for two days: one for while you take the Misoprostol and a following day to rest.
You may want to consider tidying up your space beforehand, if that feels good to you. Some people like to start their experience with clean sheets on their bed, clean towels nearby, and extra clean, comfy clothes and sets of sheets if yours get soiled. You may also want to clean your toilet (in the case that you are vomiting, it’s generally more pleasant to do that in a clean toilet) and sanitize your bathtub with a disinfectant cleaner, if baths are soothing to you.
If you are a parent, you may want to arrange some childcare during your experience. Arranging a sleepover out-of-the-house for older kids, or asking a trusted person to watch the children may give you some peace and quiet to focus on yourself, if only for a few hours. You may want to consider arranging for a dog walker or someone to watch other pets or livestock.
If you do not have a safe place to take your abortion pills, we may be able to help. Although we cannot guarantee support, you can reach out to us through our Abortion Support Network and we will assess capacity.
Know what you will tell a medical professional
if you need help
Less than 1% of people who take abortion pills will need to see a doctor for complications. Symptoms like intense cramping, nausea and vomiting, excessive bleeding, and passing of blood clots are normal when taking Misoprostol.
In some states, there are laws that restrict access to abortion. However, there are many people who are still legally and safely using abortion pills in these states.
If you think that something is wrong after taking abortion pills and you are nervous about what a doctor might think, please know that once bleeding starts from abortion pills, what happens next is exactly the same as what happens during a miscarriage. As long as Misoprostol was taken orally and not vaginally, there will be no evidence of an abortion that could be tested for during an exam.
If someone lives in a state with bans or restrictions, it may not be known how the provider feels about abortion.
Here are things someone could say to members of the medical care team:
I’m not sure what’s going on, I just started bleeding.
I suddenly started bleeding, and I’m scared that something is wrong.
How do I know if it worked?
Abortion pills are extremely effective. If you felt the common effects of the abortion pills, including bleeding, cramping, and passing blood clots, it is very likely that the pills worked. If you did not bleed within 24 hours of taking the abortion pills, please contact an abortion provider or doula for information on how to get more abortion pills or schedule a procedure. You can contact us through our Abortion Support Network.
It is recommended to wait about 5 weeks after your abortion to take a pregnancy test. Pregnancy tests detect a hormone called hcG. While hcG decreases in the body immediately after an abortion, it can still be in your body in low amounts for a few weeks. This is why if you take a pregnancy test too soon after your abortion, you may get a false positive, which means you get a positive result when you are not actually pregnant. We recommend either waiting about 5 weeks after your abortion to take another test or schedule an ultrasound with your provider.
When should I take a pregnancy test?
Abortions can be hard on your body and your mind. Below are some suggestions of food, herbal support, and self-care to help with the healing process after your abortion.
Caring for your body and mind after your abortion
Food to help support your body after your abortion
Eating foods that support the body after an abortion is important to
help replenish nutrients, support the liver, and balance hormones.
Protein
Foods high in protein help with physical healing by creating new hormones and blood clotting. Try eating:
Meats (ideally grass-fed)
Wild-caught fish
Beans and lentils
Eggs
Tofu
High-quality fats
Eating essential fatty acids supports hormone production and hormone balance. Try eating:
Coconut oil
Avocado oil
Grass-fed meats and fats
Try to avoid processed foods, which often contain rancid oils
Iron
Eating foods rich in iron is necessary to create certain hormones and hemoglobin, which is a part of red blood cells. Try eating:
Red meat
Liver
Molasses
Eggs
Lentils
Dark, leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens, etc.
Bone Broth
This “superfood” has a wide array of the amino acids our bodies need in order to make proteins, hormones, and components of a well-functioning immune system. Bone broth is incredibly healing to the gut and deeply nourishing. It is very easy to make yourself, and much cheaper. Recipes can be found online. If you want to purchase it at a store, bone broth is in the freezer section of many grocery stores. Avoid the shelf-stable "bone broth" in the soup section.
Hormone balancers
There is often a crash of hormones after a miscarriage or abortion, so eating foods or taking supplements or vitamins that support the production of hormones is helpful for mitigating this. The cofactors necessary to create hormones include:
Dietary protein (meats, fish, eggs, tofu, etc.)
"Good" cholesterol (olive oil, salmon, berries, avocado, nuts, and seeds)
Essential fatty acids (fish, tofu, chia seeds, flaxseed oil, walnuts)
Zinc (shellfish, eggs, meat, nuts, and seeds, dairy, whole grains)
Vitamin C (citrus fruits, broccoli, brussels sprouts, strawberries)
All of the B vitamins (red meat, leafy greens, eggs, dairy, sunflower seeds, nutritional yeast)
Magnesium (pumpkin seeds, almonds, spinach, cashews, peanut butter, whole wheat bread, soy milk, edamame)
Probiotics
Usually, people are prescribed antibiotics after an abortion to stave off infection. It is a good idea to take a high-quality probiotic 2 hours before or after the antibiotics for the duration of their use. This is because antibiotics wipe out the good bacteria in your digestive system, and probiotics help to replace them.
Self-Care and Aftercare
During times of high-stress, we can forget to make time for self-care. It can be helpful to start some of these suggestions before your abortion to make the recovery period easier.
Get plenty of rest. Give yourself permission to take time off of your responsibilities and take time off work if possible. Allow yourself plenty of sleep, take naps, and be gentle with yourself.
Drink plenty of water and fluids. Herbal teas can often be drying or diuretic (increase urination), so be sure to replace the water you lose. Drink more water than you think you need. Stay hydrated.
Make a plan for aftercare. Call upon friends, abortion doulas, or other support people to help in the weeks after the event. Having loved ones bring you food, or even just having food made and prepared, can take a lot of weight off your shoulders – it’s similar to postpartum care requirements.
Have a person on call to support you in case of a (rare) complication. Consider what support you’d like, whether that’s emotional support, logistical, having someone physically present, etc.
If this is a spiritual experience for you, think about what you need and what that may mean for you. Find spiritual leaders, guides, or support people to talk through your experience with.
Find people to talk to. It is often helpful to have someone to hold space for you so that you can process and share your feelings if need be. Find a support group, and reach out to your community.
Hormonal changes after your abortion
During early pregnancy, the body creates and has high levels of a hormone called hCG.
Once the contents of the uterus are expelled, hCG levels drop dramatically (because it is the embryo itself releasing the hCG) which signals the body to stop releasing progesterone. Progesterone and estrogen levels will then drop dramatically.
The amount of time it takes for the body to regulate its hormonal cycle after an abortion varies from person to person. It is possible that it will return to “normal” as soon as the abortion occurs, and ovulation may be only a few days later. Most agree that hormone levels should regulate itself by about six weeks after the abortion.
The hormonal changes can be experienced in many ways. For some, it will manifest similarly to PMS and other more familiar hormonal fluctuations:
Emotional swings
Food cravings (most often sugar)
Physiological changes (slowed metabolism)
Exhaustion
Depression
Headaches: some people experience “the worst headache of their life” due to this sharp drop in hormones
Online security and privacy
Your abortion experience is yours only. You get to decide when and whom to share it with. If you are concerned that someone will interfere with your plans to have an abortion or are worried that someone will judge or harm you, keeping your abortion private can be important. Here are some tips on how to keep your abortion your own:
Use Signal for free, secure texting and phone calls.
Use Protonmail for free, secure email.
Use DuckDuckGo for private searches without online tracking.
If you have questions about how to keep your abortion secure and private online, check out this resource.
They can help you with issues like:
Avoiding advertisements related to pregnancy and abortion
Tech and phone companies stories your information, text, and phone history
The person paying the phone bills can see your text history
If your phone gets stolen, they can see your browsing history
Protesters outside of a clinic might violate your privacy