The risks of abortion pills

Although abortion pills are known as a safe method of ending pregnancy, complications can and do arise. An abortion pill which is widely known as RU486 is an FDA approved drug to be used as an abortifacient.

Two medications, mifepristone and misoprostol are given to induce abortion if the pregnancy is within the permissible time frame of 9 weeks. The pill works to contract the uterine and expel the pregnancy tissue. It is not recommended if the patient has medical conditions like heart disease, asthma, anemia, diabetes, hypertension, bleeding problems or if fitted with an IUD.

Renal or respiratory disease, adrenal failure, a history of taking anti-depressants, aspirin or steroids also rules out the abortion pill. Abortion pills are also not advisable for people who have had an earlier surgery of the cervix or the uterus or have a fibroid uterus. HIV patients and heavy smokers cannot undergo this type of medical abortion.

Even if all the health and medical criteria fall into place, the problems associated with even the safe abortion pills must be considered and patients need to be aware of the side-effects. Also, sometimes, the side-effects can be adverse enough to pose life threatening risks. These can vary from person to person but may include heavy bleeding, headaches, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps. For some, taking an abortion pill can turn out to be more complicated than a surgical abortion.

Bleeding can be a problem associated with the abortion pill and some women may experience heavy bleeding far longer than a normal period of time. Both too little and too much bleeding can be a sign of problems. Too little may mean the procedure was incomplete and may require repeat medication or suction aspiration. Bleeding which saturates more than 2 maxi pads for more than two consecutive hours is considered too much and the patient needs to be evaluated by her physician.

Severe hemorrhaging is rare and only occurs 1 or 2 times in every 1000 cases, and is usually seen only in patients who are over 7 weeks. If the heavy bleeding does not lessen or continues much longer after the abortion it may be a sign of incomplete pregnancy. This means that some pregnancy tissue still remains in the womb which then has to be treated with an aspiration abortion procedure.

Some women may experience moderate to heavy cramping may require pain medication.

In the case of incomplete abortion and where surgical intervention is required to complete the process, infection may become an additional risk.

Injury to the cervix or the fallopian tube during the process of medical abortion may lead to complications in future conceptions.

The risk of rupture increases in an ectopic pregnancy as the abortion pill may give the impression of having terminated the pregnancy without actually being successful in it.

Abortion pills have their own share of risks, ranging from small to severe and should not be considered the only viable method of terminating a pregnancy.

As with all abortion procedures, risks are greatly minimized when performed by a competent physician experienced with medical abortion.