Abortion is the choice you make if you want to end a pregnancy before the development or birth of a baby. The procedure ejects the embryo or fetus from the body, usually before it can survive outside the mother. There are different methods of abortion, some of which can be done at home while others demand an in-clinic procedure. One modern method is the plan B pill. But there’s enormous controversy around that, so people often ask the question: Is Plan B abortion?
The abortion pill and the morning-after pill (plan B) are not the same. People often mix those two. In this article, we will give you detailed information about both.
What is the abortion pill?
The abortion pill is an early medical abortion alternative. It results in an ending of a pregnancy and is only used after pregnancy is confirmed (49 days since a woman’s last had a period). The abortion pill usually consists of two medicines; one to make the uterine lining shed (so a fertilized egg cannot stay attached) and causes the uterus to contract. Medical abortion is 95 to 97% efficient in ending a pregnancy.
- How to use the abortion pill?
The RU-486, often called the abortion pill, is a two-pill process and must be given by a doctor from professional abortion clinic.
- RU486 (mifepristone) is a drug that the doctor gives to you. This time you will be asked to take an antibiotic at this time.
- When 24-48 hours have passed from taking the mifepristone, you need to take a second medication, called misoprostol. Make sure that your doctor gives you guidance on how and when to use the misoprostol.
- A meeting with your doctor is super necessary because your doctor will assure you that the abortion pill has worked. Your doctor will give you a blood pregnancy test or an ultrasound to guarantee that you are no longer pregnant.
This procedure is only for women who are pregnant for a maximum of ten weeks. The cost of of the abortion pill can vary, and it depends on location, state and provider.
- How does abortion pill work?
Abortion pill stops progesterone receptors in your body (progesterone is the hormone responsible for making the uterine lining build up and prepare for pregnancy). So, mifepristone affects the lining of your uterus, and that’s why it sheds. Now, because the egg has nothing to be attached to, your pregnancy can no longer continue. Then, the misoprostol will cause uterine contractions, which support your uterus to empty.
Side effects:
- Pain in the abdominal area
- Spotting
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Massive bleeding
- Unfinished abortion, in which case a surgical abortion will need to happen
What is the morning-after pill?
Is plan B pill the same thing as an abortion? The short answer is NO. Emergency contraception pill, which brand name is ‘plan B,’ is not the same medicine as mifepristone. EC is birth control that prevents you from getting pregnant, and mifepristone stops the pregnancy that already exists.
A morning-after pill is a kind of oral birth control you take within 72 hours of having sex without any protection. It would be best if you do not use it as a usual form of birth control because it can be as little as 89% efficient, even when taken correctly. If you take Plan B contraception and weigh over 165 pounds, it is not practical and not recommended by the doctors.
- How does the morning-after pill work?
As we know, Plan B is not helpful once an egg is implanted. It doesn’t block a fertilized egg from inserting into the uterus or prevent a zygote that has been planted.
Side effects:
Side effects include vomiting, headache, breast soreness, abdominal pain, dizziness, and sleepiness. Those side effects will last within 1–2 days after the procedure. Because EC interrupts ovulation, not regular bleeding is normal. Consumers may encounter menstrual changes, including spotting, massive bleeding, or changed timing of the next menstrual cycle.
Why are people confused?
A lot of this confusion begins from theories about how the morning-after pill works. Plan B (just like the other morning-after pill brands) lowers your possibilities of becoming pregnant by stopping or postponing ovulation or interfering with sperm flow.
The most significant confusion has to do with whether the morning-after pill stops a fertilized egg from implantation. Although research reveals that Plan B does not intervene with implantation, the FDA labeling on the morning-after medication says that it “may hinder implantation.”
FDA
It looks like that the research the FDA applied during the permission process of the morning-after pill mainly concentrated on the safety and effectiveness of the main component, the progestin levonorgestrel.
This research did not observe exactly how the morning-after pill worked. The FDA chose to add that it could influence implantation on the product’s labeling (mainly because the thought was that because birth control pills may work by altering the lining of the uterus, the morning-after medicine does, too).
With that in mind, the FDA now acknowledges that the present data, research on the morning-after pill shows that this medicine does not intervene in implantation.
Debate
Medical specialists, including the FDA, gynecologists, and The National Institutes of Health, acknowledge that pregnancy verification takes several days and is not complete until a fertilized egg has been inserted in the lining of the woman’s uterus. In the world of medicine, you are pregnant only after implantation has happened.
Many people proceed to hold onto the mistaken assumption that the morning-after pill blocks implantation of a fertilized egg. They are quick to discuss its use and mistakenly label this type of contraceptive as something that causes the pregnancy to end early and creates an abortion. This incorrect thinking that the morning-after pill causes abortion has formed a barrier to the entree and use of the morning-after medication.
Final thoughts
Supporters of the morning-after pill continue to stand firm about educating people that this medication is not an advocate for abortion. Medical specialists describe abortion as the interruption of an implanted fertilized egg. National policy, as well, agrees with the medical experts and describes drugs and methods that act before implantation as preventions to pregnancy rather than factors that end the pregnancy.
So, let’s summarise:
- The abortion pill is a way of abortion. FDA approved this to end a pregnancy in women who are pregnant for a maximum of seven weeks.
- The morning-after pill is emergency contraception. It is FDA certified, so it can prevent pregnancy and will not hurt a current pregnancy. Medically, it is not considered that a woman is pregnant if she has a fertilized egg that has not yet been implanted in her uterus; this indicates that the morning-after pill can’t end a pregnancy when medically, the pregnancy doesn’t exist.
