For the rare cases when the abortion drug fails, they must either perform a surgical abortion or have a backup surgeon on call. Some gynecologists and family practitioners in regions where abortion access is limited are showing interest. Minn. Nobody knows, however, how many of the physicians then ordered the drug. The key may be how many women ask for it, says Steven Tamarin, a New York City family practitioner who has never performed abortions because he's not a surgeon. It depends on where they get it.
Mifepristone blocks the action of progesterone, vital for an unborn child to develop.
A second drug, misoprostol, causes a miscarrige and the explusion of the now-dead unborn child. Studies show the combination fails at least five percent of the time and serious bleeding is a very real side effect. Searle, the maker of the second drug, is on record as opposing its use in abortions because of health risks and dangers. The FDA instructs women to swallow three mifepristone tablets, return two days later to swallow two misoprostol tablets, and return again within two weeks to see if the abortion was complete or failed. But many abortion facilities plan to have women swallow one mifepristone tablet and carry misoprostol home where, two days later, they'll insert it vaginally.