This is done with graduated metal dilators in early pregnancy. In later pregnancies dilation is augmented with either prostaglandin medication or with small rods that are left in the cervix for several hours. The rods are called laminaria . Medical abortion is achieved by using a series of drugs taken sequentially. The patient expels the pregnancy at home.
Medical abortion is synonymous with non-surgical abortion.
The drugs that are used are either Mifepristone or Methotrexate followed by Misoprostol . The Mifepristone is called Mifeprex in the United States and RU486 in Europe. The abortion pill is Mifepristone. Methotrexate is an injection that was widely used in the United States and Canada before Mifepristone became available. Misoprostol is a prostaglandin, which causes the cervix to dilate and the uterus to contract.