NO VARIETY of contraception causes an abortion. Common contraceptives include birth control pills, an intrauterine device (IUD), birth control shots or patches and condoms. These methods prevent pregnancy by either regulating ovulation, fertilization or implantation. PREGNANCY DOES NOT BEGIN until an embryo has implanted into the uterus, and by definition, contraception prevents implantation. No form of contraception ends a pregnancy. Learn more here!

There’s two types of abortions – medical abortions and surgical abortions. Medical abortions are also often called the abortion pill, and consist of taking two different medicines; mifepristone and misoprostol. Serious complications in medical abortions occur in less than 0.5% of the cases. Surgical abortions are procedures done in-clinic and just as safe as medical abortions. Complications from abortion are VERY RARE and far less frequent and less serious than risks and complications associated with giving birth. Read more here!

Periods usually return 4 to 6 weeks after an abortion. You can get pregnant even before your period returns. Additionally, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has not found any well-designed research that shows any links between abortion and future ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage or stillbirth, or long-term mortality. Read more here!

Emergency contraception, also known as the morning after pill, is used to prevent pregnancy (if taken within 120 hours). If you are already pregnant, the morning after pill will not induce an abortion and it will not affect the developing pre-embryo or embryo. Recently, the FDA released a new statement to plainly explain that Plan B One-Step (the most common brand of morning after pill) is not an abortifacient and prevents pregnancy by acting on ovulation, which occurs WELL BEFORE implantation. Read more here!

A common piece of misinformation being spread online is the dangerous claim that you can ‘reverse’ the abortion pill by taking certain hormones after the first dose of abortion medication (mifepristone). Experts including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say there is NO EVIDENCE that this stops an abortion and that it is dangerous as no one knows what the side effects of taking these hormones in conjunction with abortion medication might be. Read more here!

Every year, around 50,000 pregnant people in the U.S. experience severe pregnancy complications. There are many conditions where abortion is medically necessary to save a pregnant person’s life. Complications such as pulmonary hypertension, ectopic pregnancy, severe preeclampsia, severe kidney disease, lethal fetal anomalies and other healthcare emergencies may require that desired pregnancies are terminated. In these situations, it’s important that healthcare providers are able to act quickly without fear of anti-abortion legislation or prosecution. Read more here!