Before taking any drug, you should know its impact on your health. Specific safety standards are in place when a provider prescribes a drug, and you obtain it from a pharmacy. But when a drug is ordered online and from unknown sources, your health could be at risk.
The abortion pill (medical abortion) has specific eligibility requirements, and you should be aware of all side effects and risks. Purchasing it online doesn’t guarantee a straightforward process.
What Should I Know?
Typically, abortion pills can be ordered online after a single telehealth appointment. They are often shipped from unregulated sources or overseas pharmacies. How can this risk your health?
You should always know what drug you’re taking. With an “online abortion” or “mail-order abortion,” you can’t verify you’re receiving the correct drug, dosage, or information. And the FDA notes that this method bypasses certain safety standards. Your health could be affected.
Mifepristone, the first drug in the abortion pill regimen, is FDA-approved through 10 weeks gestation. You shouldn’t take it if your pregnancy is past that gestational age, and speaking with a provider beforehand is crucial.
When you discuss your eligibility for the abortion pill with a medical professional, you can review your health history together and determine whether taking mifepristone and misoprostol is a possibility.
Understanding the Side Effects and Risks
Mifepristone, which blocks progesterone, and misoprostol, which causes uterine contractions that expel the pregnancy and associated tissue, cause side effects. You’ll always have abdominal cramping and vaginal bleeding with these drugs.
Other side effects, including headache and fever, can occur. And risks, though rare, are possible. They include:
- Infection
- Fever
- Digestive discomfort
- Heavy, prolonged bleeding
- Incomplete abortion (which may require surgical treatment)
- An ongoing pregnancy (if the drugs don’t work)
If you obtain the abortion pills online, you may be unaware of possible health effects. And without medical oversight, you could take drugs that you aren’t eligible for.
What Should I Receive Before Deciding?
Crossroads Life Center provides no-cost pregnancy services and ultrasound referrals. Receiving an ultrasound is critical, as the scan determines your pregnancy’s viability (whether it is progressing normally), gestational age (how far along you are), and location.
It can also identify whether you have miscarried or are experiencing an ectopic pregnancy. An ectopic pregnancy is always an emergency and needs immediate treatment.
Contact us to make a free and confidential appointment.