Summary
An abortion is a procedure to end a pregnancy. It is done by a licensed health care professional. It can be done two different ways:
- Medication abortion, which uses medicines to end the pregnancy. It is sometimes called a "medical abortion" or "abortion with pills."
- Procedural abortion, a procedure to remove the pregnancy from the uterus. It is sometimes called a "surgical abortion."
If you are thinking of having an abortion, talk with your health care provider. Your provider can explain how the procedures are done, as well as the risks and benefits of each.
Learn More
- Abortion Care (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
- Dilation and curettage (D&C) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Elective Abortion: Does It Affect Subsequent Pregnancies? (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
- Ending a Pregnancy (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
- Know Your Rights: Reproductive Health Care (Department of Health and Human Services) Also in Spanish
- Medical Abortion (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
- Mifeprex (Mifepristone) Questions and Answers (Food and Drug Administration)
- Pregnancy Choices: Raising the Baby, Adoption, and Abortion (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
- What to Do When Your Pregnancy Is Unexpected (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
Patient Handouts
- Abortion - surgical - aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish