The Supreme Court's recent decision to overturn a 50-year-old precedent that guaranteed a constitutional right to an abortion has people scrambling for medication that can end a pregnancies.
There is confusion over the difference between drugs for medication abortion, which are prescribed to end a pregnancies, and emergency contraceptives, which are taken soon after sex.
In the U.S., medication abortion consists of a combination of two drugs. The drugs are approved by the FDA. Something like a heavy menstrual period can be caused by them.
It is possible to take Mifeprex within 10 weeks of a pregnant person's last period. The embryo detaches from the uterus and the wall of the uterus breaks down when it is blocked by it. It is possible to take a synthetic form of a prostaglandin within a day or two after taking a drug. The uterus contracts to allow the uterus to empty. Mifepristone is more effective at inducing an abortion than on its own.
Emergency contraception, also known as the "morning-after pill", can be taken up to five days after contraceptive failure. This kind of drug can be used to prevent or delay the release of an egg. The morning-after pill may prevent the egg from being fertilized or implanted in the uterus if it has already occurred, according to some studies. The medical community defines a fertilized egg as a contraceptive that can't be terminated.
Jen Villavicencio is the lead for equity transformation at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Plan B, the most well-known of the morning-after pills, consists of a synthetic hormone and works to prevent or delay ovulation. The sooner Plan B is taken, the more effective it will be. It might not be effective for heavier people. The company that owns Plan B stated in an e-mail to Scientific American that the contraceptive is not able to induce an abortion.
People who weigh more than 195 pounds can benefit from the emergency contraceptive calledElla. Plan B uses a drug called ulipristal acetate to prevent or delay menstruation. It is possible to take ella within five days of having sex, but it is better to take it sooner.
Clinics in some states may wrongly interpret abortion restrictions as banning emergency contraceptives, despite the fact that the morning-after pills don't stop a pregnant woman. Most abortions in the state of Missouri are banned because of rape or incest, which is why Saintluke's stopped providing Plan B at its locations. Emergency contraception will not be provided at Missouri-based locations until the law in this area is better defined. The health system said it would provide emergency contraception again.
According to Villavicencio, emergency contraception should not be subject to abortion laws. There is a misunderstanding of the medical science when it comes to emergency contraception.
Emergency contraception is legal in Missouri. The Kansas City situation suggests that laws that restrict abortion could have a chilling effect on contraceptive access.
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It is important for patients and policy makers to know the differences between abortion drugs and emergency contraceptives, which are legal throughout the country.
Villavicencio says that denying people emergency contraceptives will leave more people to face the realities of unintended pregnancies without having legal abortion care as a solution.
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