Issue #11 MEDICATION ABORTION

KEEP ABORTION ACCESSIBLE. SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT.

QUICK QUIZ True or false:

Early in pregnancy, you can have an abortion by taking medications at home or in another nonclinical setting.

TRUE. More than one-third of US abortions are caused by taking pills.

MEDICATION ABORTION

Decades of use have shown that medication abortion, a noninvasive procedure that can be done at home or in other nonclinical settings, is as safe and effective as early surgical abortion in a medical facility. The World Health Organization regards this type of abortion as self-care because pregnant individuals can manage their own abortions in the early weeks of pregnancy (up to 12 weeks gestation).

In the US, a medication abortion generally involves a combination of two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, provided by a licensed healthcare provider. If mifepristone is unavailable, misoprostol alone can be effective in causing an abortion as long as the protocols described in these websites are followed: www.abortionpillinfo.org and www.howtouseabortionpill.org.

In conjunction with telemedicine services, peer-led support groups, hotlines, and online information sources, abortion pills have made abortion more accessible to millions of people.

Since 2004, some states have enacted restrictions targeting medication abortion. For information on these restrictions, on abortion providers you can trust, and on obtaining and using abortion pills, visit:
www.Abortionfinder.org; www.womenhelp.org; and www.heyjane.co.

Additional information on abortion services and funding is available here: www.nnaf.org and https://prochoice.org/patients/naf-hotline/.

OWRS (Older Women Remember and Speak Out) has developed Abortion: Talk About It, a series of short emails with reliable information that you can use to start conversations and support others doing the same. (Previous issues at Archive.) Share these emails on social media. Forward to friends, family, and co-workers. Ask them to go to OWRSpeakout.org and sign up.
We can’t change something we don’t talk about!
From Older Women Remember & Speak Out
OWRS Issue #11 January 2022