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Commentary

How to End Up in the Emergency Room: A ‘Guide’ to Chemical Abortion

July 11, 2022

Since the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, pro-abortion protestors have been distributing a “How to Use Abortion Pills” guide to those passing in front of the Supreme Court. 

Complete with images and a QR code for a “Google doc with more resources,” the flier walks a woman though the process of using abortion drugs to kill her unborn child. The 11-step process begins with the woman taking a pregnancy test (Step 1), ends with her starting birth control (Step 11), and along the way, makes certain to put her life in danger. 

Let’s take a look at some of the issues with this guide:

Step 2. “Check Your Dates”

The guide says that women should measure the time from the first day of their last period to the day they find out they are pregnant, indicating that this will inform how many abortion drugs to take.  What the guide doesn’t say is that it’s betting a woman’s life on the antiquated Rhythm Method and that as many as 40% of women are redated using first-trimester ultrasound. The further along in pregnancy a woman is when she takes chemical abortion drugs, the higher the likelihood of a serious complication. Dating a pregnancy exclusively based on what a woman thinks might have been the first day of her last period is unscientific and can be dangerous.  

Step 3. “Be Sure That You Do Not Have: IUD in place (must be removed before abortion); Long-term treatment with steroids (nasal, inhaled, or topical steroids are ok); Ectopic pregnancy; Bleeding problem or treatment with a blood thinner (aspirin is ok)” 

Certainly, a woman would likely know if she has an IUD or not or is currently taking a steroid, but an ectopic pregnancy? Dr. Google can’t accurately diagnose that. It can only be diagnosed with an ultrasound. Failure to treat ectopic pregnancy — as the pro-abortion industry often points out — can result in the death of the mother. Advising women to “be sure they do not have ectopic pregnancy” is putting a woman’s life at risk. 

Step 4. “You need two types of pills. The first is mifepristone. The second is misoprostol.”

This seems straightforward enough, but they forgot some key information. Mifepristone is known as “the abortion pill.” It was originally produced by a subsidiary of the chemical company that manufactured the cyanide gas for Nazi death camps, which remained illegal in the United States. This pill starves the unborn child to death. Misoprostol is the chemical coat hanger. It causes severe contractions that cause the mother to expel her unborn child. 

Step 5. “Timeline for Taking Pills

According to this timeline, Day 1 remains the same regardless of how far along the pregnancy is — “take mifepristone” (in other words, kill the unborn child by starving her to death). Day 2 is where things change. The amount of misoprostol a person takes depends on how far in pregnancy the mother is. The further along, the more misoprostol “the guide” recommends. 

What the guide fails to say is what the Cytotec [misoprostol] overdosage guide indicates: “The toxic dose of Cytotec [misoprostol] in humans has not been determined … clinical signs that may indicate an overdose are sedation, tremor, convulsions, dyspnea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, fever, palpitations, hypotension, or bradycardia.” 

It also leaves out what the Cytotec [misoprostol] warnings and precautions guide advises: “SPECIAL NOTE FOR WOMEN: Cytotec may cause birth defects, abortion (sometimes incomplete), premature labor or rupture of the uterus if given to pregnant women” (emphasis original).   

The guide also leaves out the important fact that because of safety concerns, the FDA has only approved the use of mifepristone for 70 days after gestation. Taking it after 11 weeks puts the mother’s life at risk, even by FDA standards. 

Step 6. “First Day: Take Mifepristone”

“Swallow one 200-mg pill.” Or don’t and contact a pregnancy resource center instead. There are better options than starving your child to death.

Step 7. “Second Day: Take Pain Medication”

Even the abortion industry cannot deny how painful chemical abortion is. 

Step 8. “Second Day: Use Misoprostol”

The guide fails to say that if at this point a woman has realized she has made a mistake and has only taken the first pill (mifepristone) in the two-pill chemical abortion regimen, there is a chance the chemical abortion can be reversed. Medical professionals administering the natural hormone progesterone have a 64-68 percent success rate of reversing chemical abortion and the pregnancy continuing. Visit abortionpillreversal.com

Step 9. “Expect Bleeding”

The physical trauma that happens to a woman’s body as a result of a chemical abortion is considered a sign that the “treatment is working.”  What the abortion guide does not say is that women may see and recognize their unborn child after passing her. For those experiencing trauma as the result of an abortion, visit hopeafterabortion.com

Step 10. “How Much Bleeding is Too Much?”

The guide attempts to prepare women for “too much” bleeding. The guide fails to note that women who had undergone a chemical abortion are nearly four times more likely to suffer severe complications as those who had undergone surgical abortions — and that the more prevalent complications are hemorrhage and incomplete abortion. If you want to ensure you’re not bleeding “too much,” skip taking the abortion pills at all. The guide states, “Remember 2x2; 2 pads for 2 hours is too much — call us!” Actually, don’t. Call 911. 

Clearly, those distributing “How to Use Abortion Pills” don’t care about women at all. In fact, their pamphlet puts women’s lives in danger. Perhaps those screaming for “women’s rights” should stop and take steps to ensure that women — including those in the womb — are alive to exercise their actual rights.

Mary Szoch is the Director of the Center for Human Dignity at Family Research Council.