What is the abortion drug Donald Trump is talking about? How is it used in Australia?

Donald Trump has suggested he is willing to revoke access to the abortion pill if he wins the presidential race, after a reporter asked him Thursday whether he would “revoke access” to the drug. The next day, Trump’s campaign office said it had not heard the question clearly.

Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, has since said that abortion policy should be set by states and that both men want to “make sure that any medication is safe and prescribed in the right way.” But it’s unclear what that means for American women’s future access to abortion.

The abortion drug they are talking about is mifepristone, otherwise known as RU486.

Mifepristone is one of the drugs used in medical abortion. It works by blocking the effect of progesterone, one of the hormones important for the development of a pregnancy.

The second drug involved is misoprostol, which contracts and empties the uterus.

In Australia, these two drugs are prescribed in a combination pack called MS-2 Step, which is licensed for use in women up to nine weeks pregnant.

What happens during a medical abortion?

When a woman has a medical abortion, she first swallows a mifepristone tablet. This blocks a hormone called progesterone, which is needed to keep the pregnancy going. This can cause bleeding.

Between 36 and 48 hours later, she places the misoprostol in her cheek and lets it dissolve.

Severe cramping and bleeding will begin and it will feel like you are having a very heavy period with blood clots and tissue leaking out. This is the lining of the uterus and pregnancy shedding.

Doctors often prescribe anti-nausea pills and pain relievers to treat these symptoms.

The whole process is similar to a miscarriage and usually lasts between two and six hours.

Once the pregnancy ends, symptoms begin to ease. Women continue to bleed as they would during a normal period for about five days, and lighter bleeding may persist for ten days to a month.

Medical abortion is safe and effective in over 98% of cases when performed early in pregnancy. The risk of serious complications such as infection or hemorrhage requiring hospitalization or transfusion is only 0.4%.

If a woman has very heavy bleeding (clots larger than a small lemon or filling or soaking two sanitary napkins per hour for more than two hours at a time), she should go to the emergency room because of the small but serious risk of hemorrhage.

If she develops a fever higher than 38 degrees, she may have developed an infection and should contact her health care provider.

Women must also have a follow-up blood test seven days after completing the MS-2 Step program to ensure the abortion was successful.

What are the other options?

Although medical abortion is quickly becoming the most common way to abort early in pregnancy, it is not the method of choice for all women.

And it doesn’t suit everyone, especially those who don’t have support, like homeless women or those experiencing domestic violence.

For some women, surgical abortion may be their method of choice or a better option. It may be helpful to use a decision aid, which outlines the pros and cons of each method.

When did Australians get internet?

As elsewhere in the world, the availability of medical abortion in Australia has enabled women to access abortions where they had not previously been able to do so.

Before its introduction in Australia in 2012, abortions were performed surgically, requiring a one-day stay in a hospital or surgical facility, as well as anesthesia.

Read more: The arrival of RU486 in Australia, a big leap forward for women

Surgical abortion was difficult to access then – and still is. Unlike surgical procedures such as knee replacements or appendix removal, surgical abortion is not always performed in public hospitals, especially in hospitals run by religious organizations.

For women living in rural areas, this is a major problem. Many surgical abortion providers are located in metropolitan areas, and many women have felt judged and stigmatized or faced obstacles put in their way by doctors who did not believe in a woman’s right to choose.

Now, a woman can obtain a prescription for MS-2 Step through her local doctor and have a medical abortion in the comfort of her own home.

If her primary care physician does not offer this service, she can see a physician who does via telemedicine. Medicare provides reimbursement for sexual and reproductive health consultations conducted over the phone or via online video. Unlike most other telemedicine consultations, for sexual and reproductive health concerns, you do not need to have seen the primary care physician face-to-face in the last 12 months to be reimbursed.

This means that a woman living in Western Australia, for example, can visit a doctor in Queensland and receive a prescription for MS-2 Step by text message or email.

She can then go to her local pharmacy to have the medication dispensed, have the medical abortion at home, and then have her follow-up consultation via telehealth a few weeks later.

What is the situation in America?

In the United States, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, it took away women’s constitutional right to abortion, allowing many states to ban abortion. This led to the closure of many clinics that performed surgical abortions.

However, the availability of mifepristone has allowed women to circumvent these state laws and obtain medical abortion pills through telehealth or online through services like Plan C or Women on Web.

If Donald Trump wins the election and restricts access to mifepristone, American women will have their options further limited and may resort to unsafe abortion methods. Restricting access to abortion does not stop it, it only makes it clandestine and less safe.