Websites where people buy abortion pills

Yes, these websites are legit, but they are not like ordering from Amazon. They sell generic abortion pills that are not regulated or inspected by the US government. Plan C tests these websites by buying pills from them. Every service we list shipped pills to a home address. The pills were real (based on laboratory testing). But we do not operate these sites, and cannot guarantee they will be reliable in the future.

Important note about payment: It is very common for these websites to email or call soon after they get an order to request a different form of payment. They often say the credit card did not go through. They often ask the buyer to use a PayPal account in a person’s name or in the name of another business. These payment requests do seem unusual, but they worked every time we tested them.

We link to online websites that provide at least 1 mifepristone and 8 misoprostol tablets (some provide up to 14 misoprostol tablets). It may not be necessary to use all of these tablets, but doctors recommend having extra pills on hand, just in case.

If an individual is under 9 weeks pregnant the starting dose is 1 mifepristone pill and 4 misoprostol pills. But, they may need extra misoprostol to complete the abortion. People who are more than 9 weeks pregnant often need additional misoprostol pills (8 or 12+ miso pills total) to complete the abortion.

Read this guide for instructions on how to take abortion pills and for recommended dosages. Our pregnancy calculator is an easy tool to find out how far along the pregnancy is. The Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline can help people understand how to take the pills and how many are needed.

Websites that sell pills do not offer medical support. The Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline provides free, confidential medical information and support by phone and text. Often they can help people address a problem without needing to go to a clinic or hospital.

Anyone who is experiencing complications and feels the need to seek care from a health care provider at a clinic or hospital should do so. The clinician does not need to know that someone had used abortion pills to provide appropriate follow up care. Clinicians also can’t tell someone has taken abortion pills unless they tell them, or if they inserted the misoprostol vaginally and the pills did not fully dissolve. Many people use misoprostol orally to prevent this possible detection.

Some people who have told their clinician that they used abortion pills have faced legal prosecution. This is why many people just say they are having a miscarriage. The symptoms after taking abortion pills are the same as a miscarriage, and blood tests do not reveal any differences between a miscarriage and a medication abortion.

Free, nonjudgmental emotional support before, during, and after abortion is available from the folks at All-Options Talkline, Exhale, Faith Aloud, or Reprocare.

• 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.