Does the abortion pill have a weight limit?
By Kendall @ Planned Parenthood | July 13, 2022, 8:40 p.m.
Category: Abortion, Ask the Experts, Birth Control
Someone asked us: I know Plan B has a weight limit, but is there a weight limit for the abortion pill as well?
Nope — your weight won’t affect how well abortion pills work.
However, there are other things that can impact abortion pill effectiveness, like:
- How far along in your pregnancy you are when you take it
- You can use abortion pills up to 11 weeks after the first day of your last period.
- The earlier the pregnancy, the better they work.
- What type(s) of medicine you’re using
- Using mifepristone and misoprostol together works better than just using misoprostol alone.
- Some people might only have access to misoprostol — this is still an effective way to end an early pregnancy.
Abortion pills work most of the time. If you’re still pregnant after using abortion pills, you can take more medicine, or have an in-clinic procedure.
Morning-after pills (like Plan B) are very different than abortion pills. Abortion pills end a pregnancy, but morning-after pills help stop pregnancy from happening in the first place.
Unlike with abortion pills, your weight CAN impact how well morning-after pills work.
Over-the-counter levonorgestrel pills (like Plan B, Take Action, My Way, Option 2, Preventeza, AfterPill, My Choice, Aftera, EContra, and others) may not work if you weigh more than 165 pounds.
There’s a different kind of morning-after pill called ella that’s more effective than Plan B-type pills, especially if you weigh more than 165 pounds. But if you weigh 195 pounds or more, ella doesn't work as well. And you need a prescription from a nurse or doctor to get ella.
If you have questions about the abortion pill or emergency contraception, you can chat with one of our live health educators — it’s totally free and totally confidential.
Tags: Abortion, abortion pill, weight, the morning-after pill, medication abortion