The Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, which would restrict the availability of legal abortion in several U.S. states. Contrary to surgical methods, medication is used to perform more than half of abortions in the United States. There may be a rise in emergency department visits due to incorrect or unsupervised use of these medications due to the widespread availability of drugs used for medication abortion. Several drugs have been licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in ectopic pregnancy therapy and medication abortions. Numerous chemicals and natural compounds have also been employed as abortifacients. Finally, to end an undesired pregnancy, women may overdose on drugs.
The most frequently used medications for medication abortion in the U.S. were the subject of the narrative review’s discussion of their contraindications, side effects, and toxicities.
The review covered the drugs mifepristone, misoprostol, and methotrexate. Each of these drugs has a distinct toxicity and side effect profile. The contraindications and side effects of the medications used for abortion were distinct. Limited access to abortion may lead to improper or unsupervised usage, and emergency medicine doctors are on the front lines of treating these cases.
Reference: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0735675722005289
