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This represents the history of abortion.

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Video: The history of abortion laws in America

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A brief review of key legislation and court decisions on pregnancy termination in the U.S.

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This video represents the types of abortion.

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In-Clinic Abortion  | Planned Parenthood Video

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This represents one form of abortion and facts supporting it.

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The Abortion Pill | Planned Parenthood Video

What is the abortion pill?

Medication abortion - also called the abortion pill - is a safe and effective way to end an early pregnancy.

How does the abortion pill work?

"Abortion pill" is the common name for using two different medicines to end a pregnancy: mifepristone and misoprostol.

First, you take a pill called mifepristone. Pregnancy needs a hormone called progesterone to grow normally. Mifepristone blocks your body's own progesterone, stopping the pregnancy from growing.

Then you take the second medicine, misoprostol, either right away or up to 48 hours later. This medicine causes cramping and bleeding to empty your uterus. It's kind of like having a really heavy, crampy period, and the process is very similar to an early miscarriage. If you don't have any bleeding within 24 hours after taking the second medicine, call your nurse or doctor.

Your doctor or nurse will give you both medicines at the health center. When and where you'll take them depends on state laws and your health center's policies. Your doctor or nurse will give you detailed directions about where, when, and how to take the medicines. You may also get some antibiotics to prevent infection.

How effective is the abortion pill?

The abortion pill is very effective. The effectiveness depends on how far along you are in your pregnancy when you take the medicine.

For people who are 8 weeks pregnant or less, it works about 94-98 out of 100 times.

For people who are 8-9 weeks pregnant, it works about 94-96 out of 100 times.

For people who are 9-10 weeks pregnant, it works about 91-93 out of 100 times. If you're given an extra dose of medicine, it works about 99 out of 100 times.

For people who are 10-11 weeks pregnant, it works about 87 out of 100 times. If you're given an extra dose of medicine, it works about 98 out of 100 times.

The abortion pill usually works, but if it doesn't, you can take more medicine or have an in-clinic abortion to complete the abortion.

When can I take the abortion pill?

Depending on where you live, you may be able to get a medication abortion up to 77 days (11 weeks) after the first day of your last period. If it has been 78 days or more since the first day of your last period, you can have an in-clinic abortion to end your pregnancy.

Why do people choose the abortion pill?

Which kind of abortion you choose all depends on your personal preference and situation. With medication abortion, some people like that you don't need to have a procedure in a doctor's office. You can have your medication abortion at home or in another comfortable place that you choose. You get to decide who you want to be with during your abortion, or you can go it alone. Because medication abortion is similar to a miscarriage, many people feel like it's more "natural" and less invasive.

Your doctor, nurse, or health center staff can help you decide which kind of abortion is best for you.

More questions from patients:

Can the abortion pill be reversed after you have taken it?

Here's the deal: The "abortion pill" is the popular name for a safe and effective way to end an early pregnancy using a combination of two medicines: mifepristone and misoprostol. The first medicine (mifepristone) is given at a health center or your health care provider's office. After taking mifepristone, you take a second medication (misoprostol) at home 6-48 hours later. This causes cramping and bleeding and empties your uterus.

Claims about treatments that reverse the effects of medication abortion are out there, and a handful of states require doctors and nurses to tell their patients about them before they can provide abortion care. But these claims haven't been proven in reliable medical studies - nor have they been tested for safety, effectiveness, or the likelihood of side effects - so experts like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists reject these untested supposed treatments.

Studies on the abortion pill do show that if you take the first medicine but not the second, the abortion pill is less likely to work. So if you've begun the process of having an abortion using the abortion pill but are having second thoughts, contact the doctor or nurse you saw for the abortion right away to talk about your best next steps and what to expect.

What is the RU-486 abortion pill?

RU-486 is the former name of mifepristone - one of the medications that you take to have a medication abortion. RU-486 is now called "the abortion pill" or "Mifeprex" (the brand name for mifepristone).

RU-486 was developed in the 1980s. It's been safely used in Europe since 1987, and in the US since 2000.

RU-486 blocks a hormone that your body needs to continue a pregnancy. It works best when you use it with another medication called misoprostol, which causes bleeding to empty your uterus.

The RU-486 abortion pill is a safe and effective way to end an early pregnancy.

The abortion pill is very effective, but it works less well when you're more than 8 weeks pregnant. The effectiveness depends on how far along you are in your pregnancy and when you take the medicine. After 11 weeks, there's a bigger chance of stronger bleeding or cramps.

You can make sure that your medication abortion worked by taking a pregnancy test, ultrasound, or blood test. Your nurse or doctor will also walk you through everything you need to know during your medication abortion appointment.

Next How does the abortion pill work?

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The Abortion Pill | Get the Facts About Medication Abortion

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The Abortion Pill | Planned Parenthood Video Medication abortion - also called the abortion pill - is a safe and effective way to end an early pregnancy. "Abortion pill" is the common name for using two different medicines to end a pregnancy: mifepristone and misoprostol. First, you take a pill called mifepristone.

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This represents how many abortions happen annually.

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This represents what laws are in what states.

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This represents how many abortions happen in the US.

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This represents what the percentages are for each type of birth.

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These findings are the result of a five-year survey of people who have had at least one abortion and were asked to give reasons they chose to terminate their pregnancy.

It's important to remember, however, that a wide range of factors affect the decision to have an abortion. These include very personal issues that cannot easily be understood by others or grouped into general categories.

This article looks at common reasons for abortions and important related considerations.

Economic concerns are the most commonly cited reasons women choose an abortion. There are numerous reasons why one may feel financially unprepared to be a parent.

Overall Cost

Having a child is expensive. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average cost of raising a child (from birth to age 18) is $233,610-or about $13,000 annually. And those figures are from 2015.

With inflation, the estimated cost of raising a child born in 2022 exceeds $310,000, according to Brookings, a nonprofit social policy research group. That's more than $17,000 a year.

Not Earning Enough

Many people are simply not making enough money to support the financial burden of having a child. Situations that impact financial security include being unemployed or underemployed.

Underemployed means that you are employed but not working in a position that fully uses your skills or pays what your skills are worth.

Having a baby also impacts a woman's future earning potential, a phenomenon known as the motherhood pay gap.

Lack of Health Insurance

Being uninsured falls under the financial umbrella as well. Government assistance is often available for pregnant women who lack health insurance or have low income, but not everyone qualifies.

Others may have the need but simply not want to rely on such aid.

Affording Healthcare

Feeling that it isn't the right time to have a child is the second most commonly cited reason for seeking an abortion.

Unplanned Pregnancy

When pregnancy is unplanned, women may feel they are too old, too busy, or not yet ready. Similarly, some women feel that they are not yet emotionally or mentally prepared to care for a child or even handle a pregnancy.

Negative Future Impacts

About 20% of those who seek an abortion specifically feel that being pregnant or having a child will negatively affect their future.

They may choose to have an abortion because they want to avoid changes to their educational plans or careers, or they want to wait until they're more settled in life.

Partner and Family Issues

There are many issues in a relationship that affect a woman's decision to have an abortion.

The majority of women who choose to have an abortion are unmarried. According to data from 2019, 85.5% of those who had abortions were single women.

For some of these women, the fact that they are unmarried contributes to their decision to seek an abortion. About 8% of those responding to the survey on reasons for having an abortion specifically note that they do not want to be a single parent.

Family Pressure

About 5% of women say that their choice was influenced by family. This may be because they believe their family will not support them. A small percentage of women also say that they were directly pressured to have an abortion by family or friends.

Toxic Relationship

Being in an abusive or unhappy relationship can also affect a person's decision to abort.

Researchers estimate intimate partner violence is involved in 6% to 22% of abortions. Another study found 77% of rape-related pregnancies were caused by current or former intimate partners.

Rape or Incest

In the United States, an estimated 25,000 to 35,000 pregnancies are caused by rape each year. Half of all rape-related pregnancies end in abortion.

The frequency of pregnancy from incest is not as well documented. However, studies show 1% of women disclose their reason for having an abortion is rape or incest.

Other Children

About 59% of women who have abortions already have previously given birth to at least one child.

In some instances, these women choose to have an abortion because they're concerned that they don't have the time or resources to care for more children. These mothers may feel they are done having children or wish to space out their children.

Health Reasons

About 12% of abortions are related to health issues. This includes both concerns for the woman's health related to serious illnesses and congenital medical conditions in the fetus.

Mother's Health

At times, the pregnancy itself can be a high risk to the mother's safety and well-being. In fact, an estimated 700 women die from pregnancy complications each year in the U.S.

Pregnancy can exacerbate underlying or pre-existing health conditions that severely compromise a woman's health. Women with renal or cardiac diseases are particularly at high risk for pregnancy-related death.

Fetal Health

There may also be worries about the health of the fetus. This can be found during genetic testing in early pregnancy or during an anatomy scan at about 20 weeks.

In some cases, concerns over fetal health may be related to the use of alcohol, drugs, or prescription medications that harm fetal development.

Reasons for Late-Term Abortions

In the United States, 93% of abortions occur during the first trimester, before 13 weeks. Another 6% of abortions take place before 20 weeks, the midpoint of the pregnancy. Less than 1% of abortions occur after 20 weeks.

What Is a Late-Term Abortion?

Late-term abortion is not an official medical term. The medical definition of late-term pregnancy is a pregnancy in its 41st week. (After that, it's a post-term pregnancy.)

Late-term abortion is a sociological or political term that refers to abortions that occur after 20 weeks. This accounts for less than 1% of abortions.

Medical Reasons

Abortions after 20 weeks often occur for medical reasons. Fetal abnormalities are often first identified at the 20-week anatomy scan.

Some women are unable to schedule this scan before 20 weeks. In other cases, they do not get the results until after 20 weeks.

Concerns over the mother's health are another medical reason for an abortion after 20 weeks. This can be due to pregnancy complications, such as pre-eclampsia or hyperemesis gravidarum (severe nausea and vomiting), or a non-pregnancy-related condition, such as cancer.

Other Factors

Other reasons women seek an abortion after 20 weeks include:

Barriers to access

Cost

Indecision or disagreeing with the father

Lack of transportation access to care

Not knowing about the pregnancy until later

Later abortions are also more common in women who are:

Depressed or dealing with other mental health diagnoses

In unstable or violent relationships

Single mothers

Using drugs

Younger than 25

Reasons for abortion include financial concerns, marital status, and readiness to start a family, among others.

For many women who choose to have an abortion, not being able to manage the cost of raising a child plays a significant role in their decision. In each individual case, though, multiple factors go into making the decision to terminate a pregnancy.

Common reasons for abortion include economic, social, emotional, and family issues. Medical reasons for abortion include underlying health conditions that threaten the mother's life and fetal malformations that are inconsistent with life outside the womb.

Trauma from pregnancy caused by domestic violence, rape, or incest, mental health concerns, and active addiction are other reasons why a woman may decide to have an abortion.

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The decision to have an abortion is complex, difficult, and personal. Learn about the different reasons women cite for choosing to terminate a pregnancy.

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Every person should be able to decide for themselves if, when and with whom to start or grow a family.

The right to choose abortion is essential to ensuring a woman can decide for herself if, when and with whom to start or grow a family. We'll never stop fighting to protect and expand this fundamental human right.

The Supreme Court's landmark 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that affirmed abortion as a constitutional right for all was supposed to be the beginning of the fight for women's equality and autonomy, not the end. Since then, we've been forced to defend it over and over again as anti-choice politicians and organizations focus on undermining and chipping away at our rights until they can do away with legal abortion access completely. They've passed hundreds of laws to restrict a woman's ability to access abortion care. These laws take many forms, including trying to outlaw abortion altogether, shutting down clinics, restricting access based on income level and dictating which medical procedures are available.

Anti-choice extremists will stop at nothing. They have opened thousands of fake health-care "clinics" that lie to and mislead women to prevent them from considering abortion as an option. And some anti-abortion zealots-emboldened by extreme rhetoric from anti-choice groups and politicians-have even murdered doctors and bombed clinics.

When the right to abortion is endangered, the fundamental equality of women is threatened. A woman can never be equal if she is denied the basic right to make decisions for herself and her family.

Eight in 10 Americans support the right to legal abortion. NARAL Pro-Choice America will continue to fight to keep abortion legal for all women, regardless of ZIP code or income. We will mobilize together to defeat attacks in the states and in Congress. We'll help elect candidates who will be champions for reproductive freedom. And we will continue to educate, inform and rally the public to protect and expand the fundamental human right of all people to make their own decisions about their lives.

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Help protect abortion access. Get involved in one of our campaigns.

Everyone should be able to decide if, when, how, and with whom they start or grow a family.

By taking this action you are affirming your membership in NARAL Pro-Choice America. What's this?

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Every person should be able to decide for themselves if, when and with whom to start or grow a family. The right to choose abortion is essential to ensuring a woman can decide for herself if, when and with whom to start or grow a family.

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This represents the pros and cons regarding about abortion.

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The debate over whether abortion should be a legal option has long divided people around the world. Split into two groups, pro-choice and pro-life, the two sides frequently clash in protests.

Proponents of legal abortion believe abortion is a safe medical procedure that protects lives, while abortion bans endanger pregnant people not seeking abortions, and deny bodily autonomy, creating wide-ranging repercussions.

Opponents of legal abortion believe abortion is murder because life begins at conception, that abortion creates a culture in which life is disposable, and that increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual education would make abortion unnecessary. Read more background...

Pro & Con Arguments

Pro 1

Abortion is a safe medical procedure that protects lives.

The death rate for legal abortions is 0.7 deaths for every 100,000 abortions. By contrast, there are one to two deaths per 100,000 plastic surgery procedures, three deaths for every 100,000 colonoscopies, and three to six deaths per 100,000 tonsillectomies. Childbirth has nine deaths per 100,000 deliveries.

Pregnancy-related maternal deaths could increase 20% in US states with abortion bans. Amanda Stevenson, Sociology Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, explained, "People with resources are more likely to make it out of state or find out about medication abortions. People who can't are more likely to have health issues, to live in poverty and have less access to resources." People of color are especially likely to be in the latter category and, thus, negatively impacted by abortion bans.

The predicted 20% maternal death rate does not include those who will die from "back alley" or illegal abortions because legal options were not available.

Globally 45% of abortions are unsafe, 97% of which take place in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "Evidence shows that restricting access to abortions does not reduce the number of abortions; however, it does affect whether the abortions that women and girls attain are safe and dignified. The proportion of unsafe abortions are significantly higher in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws than in countries with less restrictive laws."
Read More

Pro 2

Abortion bans endanger healthcare for those not seeking abortions.

Medical treatment for nonviable pregnancies is often exactly the same as an abortion.

Ectopic pregnancies occur when a fertilized egg implants somewhere other than the uterine cavity. About one in 50 pregnancies are ectopic, and they are nonviable. Bleeding from ectopic pregnancies caused 10% of all pregnancy-related deaths, and ectopic pregnancies were the leading cause of maternal death in the first trimester.

One out of every ten pregnancies ends in miscarriage. The drugs used for medication abortions are the only treatment recommended for early miscarriages. For later or complicated miscarriages, the same surgical procedure used for abortions is recommended.

While some abortion bans include specific exceptions for nonviable pregnancies and miscarriages, other bans are too vague to be practicable. Healthcare providers may refuse to perform a procedure that could be interpreted as an "on-demand" abortion for fear of liability or prosecution.

Further, bans are a slippery slope to contraceptive and other healthcare restrictions. For example, some already wrongly view Plan B (the morning after pill) as an abortifacient and are thinking of including it in abortion bans.
Read More

Pro 3

Abortion bans deny bodily autonomy, creating wide-ranging repercussions.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated, "eliminating the rights of women to make decisions about when and whether to have children would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades.... In many cases, abortions are of teenage women, particularly low-income and often Black, who aren't in a position to be able to care for children, have unexpected pregnancies, and it deprives them of the ability often to continue their education to later participate in the workforce."

After being denied an abortion, household poverty increased and lasted four or more years, resulting in an inability to cover basic expenses including food, housing and transportation. A denied abortion was associated with a lowered credit score, increased debt, and an increase in negative public records including evictions and bankruptcies. The households were also more reliant on government assistance. Transgender and nonbinary people denied abortions may face even worse outcomes.

And the consequences can be much more dire. "If a woman of childbearing age dies, it has enormous economic consequences.... It's someone who society has invested in and who has many productive economic years ahead of them," according to David Slusky, Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Kansas. Often, death also removes a wage-earner and caregiver from the household.

60% of women seeking abortions already had other children. Being denied an abortion worsened the well-being of their older children, including not meeting childhood development markers.

The Turnaway Study concluded, "Abortion does not harm women," and "Women who receive a wanted abortion are more financially stable, set more ambitious goals, raise children under more stable conditions, and are more likely to have a wanted child later."
Read More

Con 1

Life begins at conception, making abortion murder.

Conception is the moment a sperm cell fertilizes an egg cell, which begins the process of cell division that creates a human.

Tara Sander Lee, Senior Fellow and Director of Life Sciences at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, stated, "life begins from the moment of conception when the sperm fertilizes the egg, because there is the creation of a new, totally distinct, integrated organism or a human being, which is going to be biologically distinct from all other life forms on this planet." The first cell is biologically distinct because it has its own DNA that is different from either biological parent and all other humans.

Ending a life is murder legally and ethically, even a life that is only a few growing cells at the time of death.

Pope Francis explained, "Abortion is murder. Those who carry out abortions kill.... At the third week after conception, often even before the mother is aware (of being pregnant), all the organs are already (starting to develop). It is a human life. Period. And this human life has to be respected. It is very clear.... Scientifically, it is a human life."

That people may face difficulties without abortion as an option does not excuse or justify murder. A reader of The Atlantic, who gave only the initial K., clarified the moral dilemma: "I wish that I could be pro-choice because the awful circumstances so many women face-that I can't even imagine facing-seem so much more real to me than the rights of a fetus who doesn't even always look human. But abortion is the intentional killing of a human being and we look back with horror at anyone in history who decided a group of people did not actually count as people. We cannot solve the problem of injustice against women with more injustice. We need solutions that support women without killing fetuses."
Read More

Con 2

Legal abortion promotes a culture in which life is disposable.

Echoing a 2014 remark by Pope Francis that connected abortion to " throwaway culture," Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, stated, "abortion represents a failure to recognize the sanctity of human life and promotes a culture in which human life in its most vulnerable moment is perceived as disposable. Such a proposal targets poor women as needing an expedient solution to a complex problem."

Tobin previously declared legal abortion a "brutalization of the American heart" on par with the "dehumanization of the undocumented" immigrants.

Alveda King, former Georgia state representative and niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., also connected abortion to other societal ills: "Abortion and racism are both symptoms of a fundamental human error. The error is thinking that when someone stands in the way of our wants, we can justify getting that person out of our lives. Abortion and racism stem from the same poisonous root, selfishness. We create the deceptions that the other person is less important, less worthy, less human. We are all fully human. When we face this truth, there is no justification for treating those who look different than us as lesser beings. If we simply treat other people the way we'd like to be treated, racism, abortion, and other forms of inhumanity will be things of the past."

As King notes, some fetuses are treated as less than human. This ideology combined with legal abortion could create a slippery slope to designer babies, gender selection, termination of disabled but healthy fetuses, and other trait-selection-based abortions. The slippery slope can then extend to the mentally disabled and elderly in general.

"[A]bortion is an act rife with the potential for eugenic manipulation," according to US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. "Technological advances have only heightened the eugenic potential for abortion, as abortion can now be used to eliminate children with unwanted characteristics, such as a particular sex or disability."
Read More

Con 3

Increased access to birth control, health insurance, and sexual education would make abortion unnecessary.

Experts largely contribute the decline in abortions in the United States and elsewhere to the improved safety and availability of LARC (long-acting reversible contraception) including IUDs and contraceptive implants that can last up to 10 years.

Access to health insurance to pay for contraceptives also contributed to a drop in abortions. With the passage of Obamacare (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), more people were insured with access to free or low-cost contraceptives and reproductive care.

Linda Rosenstock, Public Health Professor of Health Policy and Management at UCLA, summarized the simplicity of the connection: "In the United States each year, about half of pregnancies are unintended and about 40% of those lead to abortion. Access to birth control leads to fewer abortions."

Further, teens are having sex later in life than their parents. 38.4% of American high schoolers reported they have had sex (down from 54% in 1991) and only 27.4% reported they were currently sexually active (37.5% in 1991).

Because teen birth control use has not increased significantly, experts attribute the decline in part to better sex education. A 2021 study found that students who received comprehensive sexual education initiated sex later than students who did not participate in sex ed. The later teens have sex, the less chance there is for them to become pregnant unintentionally, which leads to fewer abortions.
Read More

Did You Know?

1. Throughout much of Western history, abortion was not considered a criminal act as long as it was performed before "quickening" (the first detectable movement of the fetus, which can occur between 13-25 weeks of pregnancy).

2. In 1821, Connecticut became the first US state to criminalize abortion.

3. The death rate for legal abortions is 0.7 deaths for every 100,000 abortions. By contrast, there are one to two deaths per 100,000 plastic surgery procedures, three deaths for every 100,000 colonoscopies, and three to six deaths per 100,000 tonsillectomies. Childbirth has nine deaths per 100,000 deliveries.

4. Abortion rates in the United States have fallen at what the CDC called a "slow yet steady pace" since a peak in 1981. That year there were 29.3 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44. The rate fell to 11.4 abortions per 1,000 women in 2019.

5. 60% of women seeking abortions already had other children.

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Abortion - Top Arguments For and Against - ProCon.org

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The Pro Choice side says women should have control of their bodies. Pro Lifers say abortion is murder. Explore both sides of the debate.

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This represents facts regarding abortion.

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There are two ways of ending a pregnancy: in-clinic abortion and the abortion pill. Both are safe and very common. If you're pregnant and thinking about abortion, you may have lots of questions. We're here to help.

Considering Abortion

Trying to decide if abortion is the right choice for you? Here are answers to common questions.

The Abortion Pill

The abortion pill works up to 11 weeks of pregnancy. You can usually have your abortion in the privacy of your own home.

In-Clinic Abortion

In-clinic abortions are safe, simple medical procedures provided by doctors and nurses at a health center.

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Abortion Information | Information About Your Options

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Abortion is a safe and legal way to end a pregnancy. Learning more about abortion methods and options can help you decide if it is the right choice for you

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This represents facts regarding abortion.

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What facts about abortion do I need to know?

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Abortion is a very safe procedure. Planned Parenthood provides you facts about your options, the different kinds of abortion, and what to expect.