Medical abortion ends a pregnancy using medications rather than surgery. A woman may use Mifepristone during the early part of pregnancy no later than 49 days after the first day of her last period. This is confirmed by ultrasound. Mifepristone is a pill that the woman swallows. It works with another medication called Misoprostol.
Mifepristone blocks a hormone that is needed to continue pregnancy.
The woman inserts the second drug, Misoprostol, into her vagina three days after taking Mifepristone. This is done in the woman s home, where she can make herself comfortable. Misoprostol causes the uterus to contract. The contractions cause the pregnancy to pass out of the woman s body. The majority of women begin to cramp and bleed soon after using the second medication, and the pregnancy is often passed within 4 hours.