Abortion with pills is a safe and effective way to terminate a pregnancy, but the right medications must be used to avoid risks. There are counterfeit and poor quality pills on the market that do not work properly and this can delay the procedure or bring complications during the process. Here is some information to help you find the right medication.

The first thing you need to know is that you can induce an abortion with two medications: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone is only available in a limited number of countries in the world. To see if it is available in your country, we invite you to consult this website: www.medab.org.

Mifepristone is often packaged together with misoprostol and sold as a combination product (or “combi-pack”) exclusively for abortion. Combo-packs are rarely counterfeit.

Misoprostol is widely available worldwide, is less expensive than mifepristone, and is easier to purchase through pharmacies and drug retailers. Misoprostol is the clinical name of the drug or active substance, but it is sold internationally under many other trade names, such as Cytotec, Misoclear, Misotac, Kontrac and Sovent. You can find the full list of names here: www.womenonwaves.org and more information on how to purchase the pills in this blog.

One of the recommendations to identify that the medications are appropriate is to check the format in which they are sold. Both mifepristone and misoprostol are sold in tablet or pill form. Misoprostol tablets are usually, but not always, six-sided, small hexagons. The mifepristone pill is usually round and white. If someone sells these drugs in capsule form, they are not legitimate.

An important thing to know is that misoprostol is less effective when the pills are exposed to heat and humidity. Therefore, you should look for them in double foil bubble packs (foil on top and bottom) and not in cardboard or plastic. If you are offered misoprostol packaged in cardboard, plastic or as loose pills from a bottle, it is highly likely that they are counterfeit and will affect their effectiveness. Be sure not to open the foil on either side until you are ready to use the pills.

Some safe ways to purchase effective mifepristone and misoprostol can be through a health care provider, pharmacies and drugstores, and online, as long as you take into account the information previously described. You should also make sure that the medication is not expired (the package must have an expiration date).

To review, safe and effective abortion pills should:

– be white in color
– be pills or tablets, NOT capsules
– be packaged in an intact double foil bubble pack,
– ideally be purchased in a pharmacy, with a health care professional or companion
– not have expired

You can find reliable, evidence-based information on how to safely self-manage an abortion with pills in the following video: Safe abortion with misoprostol – How to use these pills for a successful abortion.