That’s a great question. Here’s a chart that may help you out, as people often get confused about these pills.
| The Abortion Pill: | The Morning-After Pill: | |
| Method | An abortion method used to terminate an early pregnancy. | A method used to prevent pregnancy. It may cause a very early abortion if fertilization has already occurred. |
| Medication | Medications are Mifeprex® (mifepristone) and Cytotec® (misoprostol). | Medication is Plan B One-Step® (levonorgestrel). |
| When to take? | Must be taken within 49 days of when your last menstrual period began. | Must be taken within 72 hours after unprotected sex. |
| Do I need a prescription? | Pills must be prescribed by a health care professional. At least three visits to your caregiver are needed, possibly more. | Depending on one’s age, the pill may be purchased without a prescription. |
| Will it prevent STDs? | Will not prevent sexually transmitted infections or diseases. | Will not prevent sexually transmitted infections or diseases. |
If you have further questions about differences between the abortion pill and the morning-after pill, our expert team will be able to answer any questions you may have. Please give us a call at 864-244-1434 .
Source: © 2009, 2012 Focus on the Family “Morning-After Pill” pamphlet.
Footnote 1: Mifeprex is a registered trademark of Danco Investors Group, Cytotec is a registered trademark of Searle & Co. and Plan B One-Step is a registered trademark of Women’s Capital Corporation.
