1st Trimester Medical/Chemical Abortion
At the clinic, at home, or at a healthcare provider office, the woman takes mifepristone (also known as RU-486).
Progesterone is naturally produced in a mother’s body to stabilize the lining of the uterus. When RU-486 blocks the production of progesterone, the lining of the mother’s uterus breaks down, cutting off blood and nourishment for the baby, who then dies in the uterus.
24-48 hours after taking RU-486, the woman takes misoprostol (pronounced mee-so-proh-stall), also called Cytotec. This is administered orally or vaginally. RU-486 and misoprostol taken together causes severe cramping, contractions, and often heavy bleeding to force the dead baby out of the woman’s uterus. The expulsion of the baby begins roughly 24-48 hours after taking misoprostol.
The process can be very intense and painful. The bleeding and contractions can last for a few hours to several days. She could lose her baby at any time and anywhere during the process. She will often have to sit on the toilet. She may even see the baby in the pregnancy sac. At 9 weeks, for example, she may be able to see the fingers and toes of the baby as the baby is an inch long.
After she has disposed of her baby in the toilet, she may have bleeding and cramping for several weeks. Bleeding lasts an average of 9-16 days, and in some cases as long as 30 days. A small percentage of women are hospitalized due to the amount of bleeding.
In Canada, the package of the two drugs together is sold under the name Mifegymiso (miff-ah-gym-eeso). In Canada, Mifegymiso is approved by the FDA for up to 7 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors (both pro-choice and pro-life) agree that the pills can be used up until 9 weeks but the failure rate increases the further along the pregnancy is.
In 2019, Health Canada removed the mandatory ultrasound requirement for prescribing Mifegymismo. In 2021, this drug package became extremely popular during COVID-19 and was regularly prescribed over the phone to pregnant women for them to have the abortion at home. Women could do so without having seen a doctor to assess how far along they were.