Pro-choice woman recounts “emotionally scary and dangerous” experience with abortion pill

In a pro-choice book of essays, Kimi Faxon Hemingway wrote about her experience with the abortion pill, which she refers to by its original name, RU-486.

The abortion pill, mifepristone, works by breaking down the uterine lining, starving the baby and causing it to die. Then a second drug, misoprostol, is given to start contractions that expel the dead baby. Former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino describes the procedure in the video below:

1st Trimester Medical Abortion: Abortion Pills

Hemingway was early in her pregnancy, and when she went to the abortion facility, the worker she spoke with recommended the drug. Hemingway was told that the abortion pill was the best method a woman could use in early pregnancy. She was told the drug w0uld make her feel “strong menstrual cramps” and that she would bleed for about four hours. The abortion counselor described the process as “organic, natural, almost like a miscarriage.” Hemingway believed the abortion would be easy.

But things did not go the way she expected.

Hemingway took the abortion pill with the baby’s father and her friend Heather there for moral support. She laughed with her friends at a romantic comedy and was in good spirits. But then, the horrific cramps and heavy bleeding started:

The ordeal did not end when Hemingway’s friends went home. The bleeding only got worse over the next few weeks.

She repeatedly called the abortion facility, but they gave her the runaround. One week later, she was still bleeding heavily and passing large clots.

When Hemingway, traumatized and exhausted, finally went back to the abortion facility, the abortion workers found her plight amusing. She got no sympathy. The physician’s assistant who examined her laughed, “You sure are a bleeder, aren’t you?” Hemingway left the abortion facility in tears.

Three months went by. Hemingway was still “bleeding through my clothes [and] wearing diapers.” She went to a doctor unaffiliated with the clinic, who diagnosed uterine and bladder infections and gave her antibiotics. The doctor told her that he had seen other women in a similar condition after taking the abortion pill.

Despite her health issues, Hemingway went to visit her parents and had to return home on a plane. In the airport, running to catch a connecting flight, her symptoms became devastating. The bleeding was so heavy that it soaked through her pants and a scarf, which she tied around her waist in a a vain attempt to hide the blood.

Hemingway ended up collapsing in the airport and being rushed to the hospital.

The doctors diagnosed a serious infection and discovered that her baby was still growing in the womb. They performed a D&C, clearing out the infected tissue and killing the baby.

Later, the surgeon told her he had been “stunned” by her condition.

Hemingway remains pro-choice, but now sees abortion differently. She says:

Hemingway is not the only woman who had a horrible experience with RU-486, the abortion pill. Abby Johnson told of her experience taking the pill while she was still a worker at Planned Parenthood.

Johnson was also pro-choice when she had a medical abortion (abortion by medications) and was not expecting a traumatic experience. She too was in for a rude awakening about how bad an abortion by pill could be:

Another pro-choice woman told her story in Marie Claire:

This woman later suffered physical and emotional turmoil as side effects from the abortion pill, just as many women do from surgical and other forms of abortion.

All three women were abortion supporters who expected their abortions to be easy. Instead, each was put through a bloody, painful ordeal.

You can read other women’s stories about the abortion pill. And you can read more about the risks of the abortion pill. You can also find out about other common abortion procedures at the Abortion Procedures website.

Source:  Nina de Gramont, Karen Bender, eds. Choice, (MP Publishing Limited, 2010) Kindle edition

Editor’s Note: If you’ve begun an abortion, taken an abortion pill, and are regretting your decision, the 24-hour, nurse-staffed hotline at Abortion Pill Reversal may be able to give you information on reversing your abortion. If you are making a decision about abortion, see Clinic Quotes, 10 Reasons Not to Have an Abortion, Abortion Procedures, and What to Do if Your Boyfriend (or Anyone) is Pressuring You to Have an Abortion. You can also check out Stand Up Girl and Option Line or Pregnancy Line to find local resources, help, and trained people to talk to in your area.  Men involved in a pregnancy situation can check out Abortion and Men and Abortion Exploits Women.