“Abortion pill” is the popular name for using two different medicines to end a pregnancy: mifepristone and misoprostol.

Your doctor or nurse will give you the first pill, mifepristone, at the clinic. Pregnancy needs a hormone called progesterone to grow normally. Mifepristone blocks your body’s own progesterone. You’ll also get some antibiotics.

You use the second medicine, misoprostol, 6-48 hours later, usually at home. This medicine causes cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus. It’s kind of like having a really heavy, crampy period, and the process is very similar to an early miscarriage.