Abortion clinics and providers in every state.

The abortion pill is a combination of two medications: Mifepristone and Misoprostol.

• These medications stop a pregnancy from growing and cause cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus, like a miscarriage.
• This is also called "medication abortion.”

See examples of abortion pills and packaging from different providers.

We've found that abortion pills are available in every state from:

• Online clinics that mail pills
• In-person clinics (only in some states)
• Websites that sell pills
• Community networks that mail pills

Our guide shares research on all of these options. Depending where you live, accessing abortion pills online may come with legal risk.

See examples of abortion pills and packaging from different providers.

No, it’s not the same. Plan B is emergency contraception that can be taken up to 5 days after unprotected sex if birth control fails or isn’t available. It prevents pregnancy.

Plan C refers to abortion pills (Mifepristone + Misoprostol) that can be taken after a missed period, recommended up to 13 weeks of pregnancy.

We believe everyone should have access to all the options:

• Plan A: Birth control to prevent pregnancy.
• Plan B: Emergency contraception (the morning-after pill) to prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex.
• Plan C: Abortion pills to end a pregnancy.

• Research shows that hundreds of thousands of people have received and used pills by mail over the past few years with no legal problems.
• But, in rare cases (less than 1%), people have gotten in legal trouble, even though most states don’t have laws against doing your own abortion.
• Legal risk can depend on where someone lives, their identity and how far along they are in pregnancy. Also know that even if something isn’t a crime, people can still be targeted by law enforcement.

The Repro Legal Helpline provides free, confidential information that can help people better understand legal risk:

Ineedana.com also has a state legal directory.

How do people get into trouble?

Research by the legal organization If/When/How suggests these are the most common ways people have gotten into trouble:

• they told someone about their abortion and that person reported them.
• they got follow-up medical care and the provider reported them (many people say they are having a miscarriage to avoid this risk, which is medically what is happening in the body).
• they were later in pregnancy than they thought and didn’t know what to do with the fetal tissue (this calculator can help people understand how pregnant they are).

In the end, it is up to every individual to decide what level of legal risk they are willing to take. Read more about legal risk and find examples here.

What about online activity? Can that get someone in trouble?

People who have been criminalized for accessing or using pills have mostly been reported based on telling someone they know, or via a provider. That said, digital footprints (messages, browser history) also can be used as evidence against someone by authorities. Learn how to protect the privacy of your healthcare information and communications here.

The concept of period pills is still gaining recognition in the United States, so it may not be familiar to most people. But in many other countries, people use period pills when their period is late and they want it to come back, to be sure they are not pregnant. 

These pills are the same medications used for abortion, but there’s no need to take a pregnancy test or confirm a pregnancy before using them as period pills. If someone is pregnant, the pills will end the pregnancy. The same medical and legal considerations apply as with using the medications for abortion.

Read more about period pills and where people get them.