It is marketed for abortion in France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and China. Success rates decrease to about 80 percent in the ninth week, and side effects tend to be more pronounced at this later duration of pregnancy. Large scale clinical trials of mifepristone medical abortion have not examined use beyond 9 weeks pregnancy. Over 80 percent of women using the regimen report cramping and bleeding. In fact, the drugs are intended to induce these actions to help create the abortion.
Women report that medical abortion is similar to a miscarriage.
It is common practice to avoid giving aspirin or ibuprofen as these analgesics may counteract the effects of the misoprostol. Although bleeding may seem significant to the woman, the amount of bleeding is very small. Mifepristone will be distributed directly to any licensed physician who is trained in abortion, pregnancy diagnosis, and gestational age assessment, and can treat or refer complications to an appropriate back-up facility. Contraindications to the regimen include confirmed or suspected ectopic pregnancy, chronic adrenal failure, concurrent long-term corticosteroid therapy, hemorrhagic disorders or concurrent anticoagulant therapy, or known allergy to mifepristone or misoprostol. The IUD will be removed from IUD users before starting treatment.