How to have a Medical Abortion in the United Arab Emirates
The information below comes from research and data by the World Health Organisation.
Almost every woman is at risk of having an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. There are many causes: having sex without contraception, contraception failure, sexual assault, etc. If a woman needs an abortion and is in a country such as the United Arab Emirates where access to a safe abortion is very difficult due to heavy restrictions, she is suddenly in an extremely difficult and stressful situation. Every year more than 42 million women in this situation choose to end their pregnancies. If you find yourself in this situation and you live in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain or other locations in the UAE and also need an abortion, or if you need information for someone you know, please go to www.womenhelp.org for more information on the early medical abortion. The information on that site is based on research and explains what the options are for women in this situation and what they can do to access a safe medical abortion.
What is a medical abortion?
In hospitals and clinics in countries where abortion is not legally restricted, women in need of an abortion can choose between 2 methods: surgical or medical (abortion with pills). Both of these types of abortions are safe and effective, women can simply choose their preference according to their own needs and circumstances. While the first method would need to be done by a clinician, a medical abortion can happen in the comfort of your own home. In Britain and the USA, after a consultation, women are often given these pills before returning home where the abortion takes place – it is simply not true that medical abortions are dangerous without a doctor’s supervision. In England and Wales, over 50% of abortions in the first trimester are now medical abortions with pills.
The medicines used are misoprostol and mifepristone and there are two safe and effective methods of medical abortion that use these medications
- Using mifepristone and misoprostol together is 95-98% effective.
- Using misoprostol on its own is 80-85% effective.
The correct use of either misoprostol with mifepristone or misoprostol alone will cause a process similar to a natural miscarriage – uterine contractions occur and the embryo is expelled. This will be accompanied by bleeding and the excretion of blood clots.
How to get the medications for a medical abortion?
If you are pregnant for no longer than nine weeks and you have decided that abortion is the right decision for you and you live in a country where there is no access to medicines or safe medical abortion services, you can contact an organization called Women Help Women via their website www.womenhelp.org or email them on info@womehelp.org.
Women Help Women is an international organization that helps women in countries where abortion is legally restricted or unavailable including the United Arab Emirates (the UAE). Their staff will reply to your email and answer your questions as well as assist you in obtaining the pills, both mifepristone and misoprostol. The counsellors are helpful, knowledgeable and reliable. There is a donation that you will be asked to contribute to help keep the service running.
How to use abortion pills?
The World Health Organisation says that to induce an abortion up to the end of the nine weeks of pregnancy, one tablet of mifepristone (200mg) and four tablets of misoprostol (4x200mcg) are needed and the directions for use are as follows:
- One tablet of mifepristone to be swallowed with water.
- 24 hours after taking the mifepristone, the woman should put 4 tablets of misoprostol in the buccal cavity (the space between the lower gum and cheek), 2 on each side. The woman must keep the tablets in the buccal cavity for 30 minutes until they are dissolved. During those 30 minutes, while the tablets dissolve, she should not eat or drink, to avoid swallowing the pills by accident.
- After 30 minutes, any remains of the pills can be swallowed.
Before and after taking misoprostol, the woman can eat and drink normally. If she has nausea from her pregnancy, she should take an anti-nausea medicine to be sure she does not vomit the medicines. She must not consume alcohol or drugs during the process so she can pay attention to her body.
An abortion can also be caused up to 12 weeks of pregnancy using only misoprostol. This method is less effective (80-85%) but misoprostol is available at many chemists as it is also used for other conditions such as ulcers and arthritis.
When using misoprostol alone, you would need 12 x 200mcg misoprostol tablets and they should be used as follows:
- Place the first 4 tablets of misoprostol (800mcg total) in the buccal cavity (between the lower gum and cheek) for 30 minutes. The woman can swallow saliva, but not the tablets. After 30 minutes, whatever is left in the mouth can then be swallowed.
- After 3 hours, she should repeat step 1.
- After another 3 hours, repeat step one again.
Before and after taking misoprostol the woman can eat and drink normally but if she has morning sickness, she should take an anti-nausea medication when taking the tablets to avoid vomiting. She should also avoid alcohol and drugs so she can pay attention to her body at this time.
For more information about medical abortions, see: https://consult.womenhelp.org/en/page/378/in-collection/377/medical-abortion as well as documents published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) such as ‘Safe abortion: technical and policy guidance for health systems’.
Are medical abortions safe?
Studies show that medical abortion is very safe and effective throughout the first trimester of pregnancy (12 weeks). Risks of complications are low and women rarely need medical attention during or after the abortion. In case a woman does need help, she can go to any doctor or hospital that deals with miscarriages, because the symptoms and treatments of complications from medical abortions are the same as those from a miscarriage. There are no blood tests for the medicines, and the woman does not have to say she took these pills if she needs to see a doctor.
There are very few contraindications to medical abortions, except for chronic blood disorders or liver failure or ectopic pregnancies. Medical abortions are much safer than childbirth and in fact, there are more complications from penicillin each year than there are from mifepristone or misoprostol.
What should a woman expect after taking the medications misoprostol and mifepristone?
Misoprostol has some brief side effects, including light fever, chills, nausea and diarrhoea. Within 3-8 hours of taking misoprostol, a woman can expect bleeding and cramping and as the pregnancy is pushed out the cramping can be quite painful. Using a heat pad and ibuprofen can help with this.
Light bleeding may continue for up to 2-3 weeks as the uterus empties. If the abortion takes place without problems, there is no need for a visit with the doctor. The woman usually knows herself whether there was a miscarriage/successful abortion, as she may see the excreted tissue and will feel a decrease in the symptoms of pregnancy such as nausea and breast tenderness. She can then confirm the successful medical abortion by either having an ultrasound 10 days after the abortion or taking a pregnancy test 2-3 weeks after taking the abortion pills.
When is medical supervision needed?
- When there is very heavy bleeding (more than 2 maxi pads per hour for more than 2 hours).
- There are several abdominal pains that do not subside after taking painkillers or they continue for several days after taking misoprostol.
- There is a fever above 39ºC at any time during the process or one at 38ºC lasting for more than a 24 hour period.
- She has a vaginal discharge with a strong odour.
When going to a doctor or accident and emergency, a woman does not have to say she used the pills. She can say she has had a miscarriage (a spontaneous abortion). The symptoms and treatment of both miscarriages and early medical abortions are exactly the same and misoprostol cannot be detected in the urine or blood. Even if a hospital claims they can detect misoprostol in the blood, it is not true.
Why do women decide to have abortions?
Every woman is different and every reason is important and valid. Many women find themselves unable financially to have another child. They may feel too young or too old or are struggling to care for the children they already have. They may want to finish school, or are in a difficult or abusive relationship with a boyfriend or husband. Some women have goals and ambitions they want to accomplish before they become a mother. Every woman must make her own decision about pregnancy and every woman has the right to decide if and when to become a mother.
The decision to have an abortion may be difficult and the topic of abortion can be a taboo in many countries. However, in too many countries, women risk their lives with unsafe providers because the law does not allow them to access proper medical services.
Restricting access to abortion does not, however, reduce the number of abortions. It just makes abortions unsafe. To every woman I say: Do not let social pressure, religion, or any other institutions or individuals decide about your life and health. It is your body, it’s your decision!!!
Myths about medical abortions
The decision to have an abortion is always painful and causes psychological problems.
FALSE – For some women the decision is difficult, while for others, they can make the choice more easily because they know that for them it is the only choice that is right. Psychological tests show that the most common feeling after an abortion is relief and the vast majority of women do not experience any long-term negative psychological effects as a result of having an abortion. When women feel guilt, it is imposed on them by social stigma and the shaming by those who oppose abortion.
Having a medical abortion at home is too risky
FALSE – As previously stated, the risk for a woman during childbirth is much higher than that of a medical abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and these pills have fewer complications than penicillin! Also, in most cases, women describe the medical abortion as feeling like a strong period/menstruation. Clinics around the world allow women to use these medicines and stay at home while the abortion takes place – they would not do this if it was risky!
A woman will no longer be able to have children after having a medical abortion
FALSE – Early medical abortions have no effect on the ability to conceive in the future. In fact, after an abortion a woman must use contraceptives immediately if she doesn’t want to become pregnant straight away as ovulation returns almost immediately (usually within 2-3 weeks).
For a safe abortion with pills in the United Arab Emirates and for more information on how to have early medical abortions, go to www.womenhelp.org or email info@womenhelp.org.