A recent study by the British Medical Journal reported that women are frequently misled about the pain they will experience when taking the abortion pill. The study examined responses from 1,600 women in the United Kingdom (UK) who had undergone a chemical abortion, with over 90% of respondents ranking their pain at least a 4 out of 10; about half said the pain was worse than they had expected. Around 40% ranked their pain between an 8 and a 10.
The study explored the experiences of pain during medical abortion, where participants answered questions about pain, method preference, abortion experience, advice, and how they would describe pain experienced to a friend. Some of the participants’ responses are below;
- “Pain was so much stronger than period pain; it was like having contractions in labour. I’ve given birth three times, and the pain wasn’t too much different from that pain, the cramping contraction pain.”
- “Like someone squeezing my stomach muscles, like my insides were being twisted.”
- “The pain was intense and constant in my lower back. It hurt so much that it made me throw up several times. I felt shaky and faint at points. After the pregnancy passed, it became a lot easier.”
- “The pain was a lot worse than I expected, perhaps because it was compared to bad period pain, and my periods have always been fairly pain-free.”
- “[I wish I had been told] how bad the pain actually would be, not just ‘cramps’ cause it’s more than just cramps”.
- “Pain was so severe, and yet everything I read or heard, and what little there was about the pain on the internet was it was slight cramping like a bad period… well it couldn’t be further from the truth…. The amount of pain you could go through is completely played down … I understand they probably don’t want to scare many women, but I’d rather know how bad the pain can get.”
- “If I had known it was basically like inducing labour, I would not have taken the medical abortion route.”
- “From what was on the website and what I was told, I had no indication it could be like that [so painful].… [Being transparent] might put some women off from abortion. However, I feel that patients have a right to fully understand the risks and benefits. This should be made transparent; shared and informed decision-making is essential.”
The study’s authors recommend abortionists be more realistic about the reality of chemical abortions, considering some participants found comparing the pain to menstrual pain was misleading and inaccurate. In addition, they were unprepared for the pain and the trauma of seeing your child and the amount of bleeding involved.
Whilst the context of the study is UK-based, the issue of chemical abortions and the consequences and even aftermath can be applied to any country that not only offers abortion services but minimizes the pain and suffering of abortion.
Original article
