Healthcare has changed drastically in the last few years. What used to require scheduling a trip to your primary physician can now be handled immediately online or over the phone. Although many medical advancements are good, choosing to order drugs online has specific risks.

If you’re facing an unexpected pregnancy, the privacy of ordering the abortion pill online may seem appealing, but ordering these drugs over the internet may bypass several safeguards put in place to protect your health.

Why Does the FDA Recommend Not Buying Abortion Drugs Online?

Have you ever ordered something online, only to find out it’s nothing like what you saw in the online store? The size is different, the colors are off, or the entire item is cheaply made.

This is the problem with ordering abortion drugs online. Many online distributors are from foreign countries. There is no guarantee you will get what you ordered.

The abortion pill method is a two-step process. The first drug, mifepristone, ends the pregnancy. Misoprostol, the second drug, causes contractions and bleeding to expel the pregnancy from your body.

The FDA highly regulates the first drug, mifepristone. They approve its use only through the first 10 weeks* of pregnancy, and they don’t recommend buying the drug online. Why?

In the United States, medications are approved based on their safety, effectiveness, and quality. Drug manufacturers from foreign countries are not required to follow the same standards, making it impossible to ensure safety protocols.

What Are the Risks?

The Mayo Clinic lists the risks associated with taking the abortion drugs.

The body doesn’t release all of the pregnancy tissue. This is also called an incomplete abortion.
An ongoing pregnancy if the procedure doesn’t work.
Heavy and prolonged bleeding.
Infection.
Fever.
Digestive symptoms such as an upset stomach.

Not All Women Are Eligible For the Abortion Pill

According to the Mayo Clinic, several medical reasons can also make you ineligible for the abortion pill method. They say this method is not an option for you for the following reasons:

You are too far along in your pregnancy.* The further along you are, the less effective the drugs are.
You have an intrauterine device (IUD) in place.
You have a suspected pregnancy outside the uterus. This is known as an ectopic pregnancy and can be extremely dangerous.
You have certain medical conditions, such as anemia, bleeding disorders, or diseases affecting the heart, liver, kidneys, or lungs.
You take a blood thinner or certain steroid medications.
You can’t reach a healthcare professional by phone or online, and you don’t have access to emergency care.
You are allergic to the medicine used.

What Are My Next Steps?

Confirming details about your pregnancy is essential. You can obtain much of the above information through an ultrasound scan.

Search our directory for free pregnancy help. You matter to us. Let us help you during this season of life.

*The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only approves medical abortion up to ten weeks or 70 days of pregnancy.

The abortion and legal information sourced in this blog is accurate at the time of writing.