Abortion Pill:

The abortion pill, more correctly called an abortifacient, is a medicine that ends a pregnancy. It can usually be used up to 63 days after the first day of a woman's last period. The trade name for the most popular "abortion pill" is Mifepristone, which was called RU-486 while being developed.

Drugs Used

Mifepristone is a progesterone receptor competitive antagonist that was first approved in 1988 under the trade name Mifegyne for medical termination of early pregnancy in conjunction with a prostaglandin analogue. Mifepristone, sometimes called RU-486, is sold as Mifegyne in countries other than the United States, and as Mifeprex in the U.S. Misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) analogue, was approved in 1988 as Cytotec to be used for reducing the risk of NSAID-use-related gastric ulcers. Misoprostol is sold in France as GyMiso for use in conjunction with Mifepristone for medical abortions. The same combo is also frequently used for medical abortions in the U.S. In Latin American countries where legal abortion is not available, and by some people in the United States who cannot afford a legal abortion, Misoprostol alone is sometimes used for self-induced abortion.