Medication Abortion

Growth

What Is It

Impact

Seeking Help

Start Healing Today

Growth

What Is It

Impact

Seeking Help

Start Healing Today

We help individuals experiencing after abortion regret, anger, grief, and other emotions to find healing and restoration by listening, assessing their needs, and connecting them with options-based healing services. We also train and equip clinicians and other abortion healing providers on how to promote and restore well-being, as well as the particular challenges of client support related to medication abortions.

Growing Trend

Medication abortions (also called at-home, pill, chemical, medical, or self-managed abortions) have rapidly become the norm, growing from 5% of all abortions in 2001 to an expected 70% in 2022.

This is changing the way people experience abortion and presents challenges for both clients and abortion healing providers.

What is Medication Abortion?

Medication Abortion

Medication abortion is non-surgical and uses medically-prescribed pills to end a pregnancy.

At-Home Medication Abortion

A medication abortion undertaken with medical assistance. Typically, a provider assesses and provides pills, and the woman takes the pills at home. An ultrasound may be done afterwards to confirm the pregnancy has ended.

Self-Managed Medication Abortion

A medication abortion undertaken without any medical assistance. A woman self-assesses, obtains pills, conducts the abortion, and confirms completion on her own.

Medication Abortion Process

By choosing medication abortions, a woman independently manages the abortion at home. Because of this method, she is dealing with her pain and pregnancy expulsion alone, which can be incredibly intense and impactful. This can amplify feelings of grief, guilt, sadness, and loneliness, especially if she was not prepared or informed beforehand about what to expect. It can also increase the fear of judgment or lack of acknowledgment of grief as real that some people feel.

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I can now see it was a baby. I thought it was a clump of cells, but I saw eyes.

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I took the abortion pill. The after effects are unbearable. I’m not sure I did the right thing, even though I thought about it intensely before deciding. I’m hurting so much, and I keep thinking How did I make this decision and become so powerless?

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Yesterday was the final day of my abortion. I was not prepared for what was going to happen. I can’t stop crying. I saw the baby’s arms and legs. I was nine weeks and didn’t know the baby would be that developed. I’m so shaken and distraught about what I saw. My boyfriend saw the arms and legs, and is very upset, too. I feel so guilty. I can’t stop thinking what if…what if I had tried harder…what if… We’re both really emotional. I need to talk to someone.

The Impact

Our consumer research study of women with medication abortion experiences showed experiences and feelings all over the map: some felt relieved and had no regrets, others said their medication abortion was far more painful – both physically and emotionally – than they expected, and other women said they have suffered long-lasting feelings of grief. The study also revealed that women with abortion experiences may feel negative emotional impacts from their abortion decision regardless of their personal views on abortion or their religious beliefs.

Medication Abortion Statistics from Support After Abortion

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It just affected me a lot more physically and emotionally than I expected.
~ Strongly pro-choice, abortion was 5+ years ago

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The way it was explained to me was not how it truly happened. They said it would be painless, it definitely was not. It was a lot more frightening than expected. I was in much more pain than explained to me.
~ Somewhat pro-choice, abortion was 5+ years ago

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It was much worse and more painful than I expected.
~ Strongly pro-life, abortion was 5+ years ago

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I regret it still to this day and probably will for the rest of my life.
~ Somewhat pro-life, abortion was 5+ years ago

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It was horrific. It was 100 times more painful and took longer than I was told ~ over 12 hours to completely expel the tissue. It was so much more traumatic than a surgical abortion, which I had once before.
~ Strongly pro-choice, abortion was 3-4 years ago

{

It was incredibly emotional and difficult.
~ Strongly pro-choice, abortion was 5+ years ago

Seeking Help

In our consumer research, women who experienced medication abortions stated they could have benefitted from support, but didn’t seek help because:

too personal ashamed
embarrassed too upsetting
uncomfortable controversial
no one would understand
afraid of judgment or condemnation

At Support After Abortion, we help individuals experiencing after abortion regret, anger, grief, and other emotions find hope and healing. We also help individuals who are considering abortion.

We care. We listen. We help.
Healing is Possible.

Our consumer research shows a strong preference for after abortion healing support that is anonymous and secular. Although the majority of all respondents expressed a desire for anonymity, it was very important for those self-identifying as strongly pro-life and those who self-identified as Christian. The desire for not faith-based programming was strong for all women regardless of their political or religious beliefs, in fact only 16% of all women reported wanting a faith-based approach. These are key reasons why we encourage providers to offer diverse options.

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I had a pill abortion last year. I called two other places when I was struggling emotionally afterwards. But, they were really religious and I felt judged. I’ve tried to just read help stuff on my own, but I’m still having a hard time. My boyfriend wants to move on, but I can’t. I get upset when I see pregnant women or when friends post their ultrasound pictures. My thoughts are overwhelming. Can you help me find a support group that meets online and isn’t religious?

{

My pill abortion was some of the worst pain I’ve ever felt. I felt fine emotionally when I made the decision, but now I’m feeling regret. I thought I was only six weeks, but during the abortion I knew I was much farther along. I’m having a really hard time. I don’t know what to do. I’m struggling and I really need to talk to someone.

{

I had an abortion last year and I’m really struggling. It’s been a year and it still feels like yesterday. I am heartbroken. I think I need to talk to other women that have been through similar experiences.

Start Healing Today

Want to talk to someone?
Want to get connected to a healing resource, provider, or support group?

Contact our After Abortion Line

You can call, text, or message us on social media.

Want to learn more about abortion healing?
Explore our website. You may find these pages particularly helpful:

Receive Healing
Women’s Healing
Men’s Healing
Receive Healing FAQ

Want to explore healing on your own?

Visit our Online Client Healing Center

You’ll find self-paced programs and resources, as well as video stories of people sharing about their abortion and healing experiences.