Abortions at Home vs. Morning After Pill

Convenience and time-saving options are attractive, but often this can have dangerous side effects and repercussions. This is especially true when it comes to so-called “at-home abortions”. This kind of abortion is marketed towards women facing unplanned pregnancies in their first trimester. Similarly, the “morning-after pill” acts as an abortifacient in the hours immediately after unprotected sex. These two “options” have much more in common than pro-abortion advocates would like you to think. Let’s start with the differences.

DIFFERENCES: TIMING

Most information on the differences between Plan B/”The Morning After Pill” has to do with the timing. Plan B is also known as emergency contraception, which means it’s used to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex or if other forms of birth control, like a condom, breaks or fails in some way. The Morning After Pill is “most effective” if taken as soon as possible after sex. The literature on this option emphasizes that it’s not an abortifacient and merely delays ovulation, but that’s not the whole story. Meanwhile, “at-home abortions” refer to the combination of medicines taken to end a pregnancy during the first trimester.

DIFFERENCES: PROCESS

The process for each of these options is different, but they ultimately have the same effect. With medical abortion, women take one pill to thin the uterine lining and another one several days later to expel the baby. The good thing is that if you change your mind after taking the first pill and want to keep your baby, you can reverse the effects of the abortion pill! Plan B just requires one pill.

SIMILARITIES: ABORTIFACIENT QUALITIES

Medical abortions or “at-home abortions” are obviously abortifacient. The goal of taking the pill combination is to end your pregnancy. This happens in two ways. First, the mifepristone medication blocks the hormone progesterone from the uterus, and the lining thins and breaks down. Misoprostol, usually taken about 1 to 2 days later, contracts and expels the baby from the uterus. The morning after pill works slightly differently but has the same outcome: preventing/stopping a pregnancy. Plan B works because of its higher dose of hormones commonly found in birth control pills, which aim to prevent pregnancy by blocking ovulation, fertilization, and implantation. Many trusted websites defend this process by referring to the medical definition of pregnancy that claims it starts with implantation.

SIMILARITIES: MARKETED AS SAFE

Both medical abortions and emergency contraception are generally promoted as safe by abortion-rights advocates and even mainstream medical professionals. However, “at-home abortions”, while supposedly done under medical supervision, still pose risk for bleeding, infection, and other complications for the mother. With Plan B, pain, spotting, and adverse effects on the menstrual cycle are known side effects, which often are downplayed in literature. Also important to note is that the morning-after pill is available without a prescription, and it’s unlikely that most people read the inserts carefully to know about the associated risks.

THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS

Think you may be pregnant and not ready to parent? There are other options aside from abortion. Book a free, confidential, non-judgmental consultation at Clearway Clinic today. We look forward to meeting you.