While abortion is still legal, many states have since passed laws that restrict access to abortion to varying degrees…Now some women are…turning to a method made possible by modern medicine: the “abortion pill.”
For those with access to a clinic, the abortion pill has become an increasingly popular way to legally terminate an early pregnancy.
Anti-abortion activists argue against the safety of using this method outside a doctor’s office, and have even argued that states should require stricter medical supervision for abortion medication.
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How does it work? The first dose—a 200 mg mifepristone pill—begins the process by blocking the body’s progesterone, a hormone that is needed to continue a pregnancy in its early stages…By blocking this hormone, the first pill helps break down the uterine lining that a woman normally sheds during her period, so that the embryo can detach from the uterine wall. After that happens, a woman dissolves four 200 mcg misoprostol tablets in her mouth. This second medication, which is also used to induce labor, helps expel the detached embryo.
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“Overall [a medication abortion] is extremely safe,” says [Dr. Lauren Thaxton, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico who has been performing abortions for six years]. Common symptoms include nausea, cramping and heavy bleeding, similar to what women experience during a miscarriage.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: The Science Behind the “Abortion Pill”
