Join our mailing list to get regular email updates and info on what we're up to!
If you are under 18, please make sure you have your parents’ permission before providing us with any personal details.
Abortion is when someone sometimes chooses to end a pregnancy. It is sometimes called a ‘termination’.
People choose to end a pregnancy for lots of reasons. It might be because they don’t want children, or aren’t financially able to support a child. It might also be because it would be medically unsafe for them to have a baby. Whatever someone’s reasons are for having an abortion, it is their choice and their right to do so.
INFO
Abortion is a very safe procedure, and on average it is much safer than continuing with the pregnancy and giving birth. The earlier an abortion is carried out, the safer it is, too. But like any other medical procedure, it has a risk attached to it. The doctor or nurse who is advising you should always provide information about the potential risks before you go ahead.
There are two ways of ending an unwanted pregnancy; a medical abortion (which involves taking medicines) or a surgical abortion (which requires a surgical procedure).
The type of abortion you can have depends on several factors but you should always be able to choose the method you would prefer as long as it suits your medical needs. The doctor or nurse advising you will tell you which methods are suitable based on your medical history, how many weeks the pregnancy is and whether you prefer to be awake or asleep for the procedure.
Early medical abortion is provided in the first ten weeks of pregnancy. It is sometimes known as the ‘abortion pill’.
This method involves taking two medicines which end a pregnancy. It’s not the same as emergency contraception, which can be taken to try to prevent pregnancy from happening in the first few days after unprotected sex.
The first medication you will be given is mifepristone, which ends the pregnancy. The second medication is misoprostol and is taken 24 to 48 hours later.
The second medication causes your womb to expel the pregnancy through cramping and bleeding and this usually takes between 4 and 6 hours but sometimes longer. You will be offered pain relief. Most early medical abortions take place at home.
It is now possible to have a telephone or video consultation and if it is agreed that medical abortion is the right treatment for you you can have all the medication sent to you at home, without needing to visit a clinic.
You will have cramps and bleeding and are likely to spot blood for up to fours weeks following the abortion.
More about a medical abortion on MSI website
Abortions given between 10 and 15 weeks are called vacuum aspiration, also known as the ‘suction method’.
For this procedure either a general (asleep) or local (awake) anaesthetic is given. The procedure only takes about 5-10 minutes and there is no wound or stitches.
The cervix (the entrance to the womb at the top of the vagina) is gently stretched to allow a thin tube to pass through it into the womb. Once the tube is inserted the pregnancy is removed by suction. Most people only take an hour or so to recover and go home the same day.
More about a vacuum abortion on BPAS website
Abortion after 15 weeks is less common as most abortions happen in the first 13 weeks of pregnancy. However, sometimes people need to have an abortion later on in pregnancy. They might find that they need to travel out of their local area to do so, as abortion after 15 weeks is not always as easy to access. Again, it’s important to talk to a doctor as soon as possible.
The exact procedure offered to you will be explained by a doctor or nurse before the abortion goes ahead. Here are the procedures that you may undergo:
There are risks with any medical or surgical procedure and your doctor or nurse should explain them clearly to you before you go ahead with an abortion. Each procedure has a different set of risks and you should be given written information about those risks.
After an abortion, there is a small risk of infection. You may be given antibiotics afterwards to stop infections. The symptoms of infection include pain in your pelvic area (like bad period pains), and heavy bleeding from your vagina.
Brook services do not perform abortions but we do provide emergency contraception, pregnancy tests and abortion referrals. This means that Brook can provide you with emergency contraception, pregnancy tests, and if you are pregnant and want to end the pregnancy – we can refer and support you into other services near you that provide abortions.
If you would like more help or advice about abortion you can:
Be careful
If you are looking for support around making a decision, be careful – some places pretend to offer ‘impartial’ and ‘unbiased’ advice, but actually they use counselling to persuade people not to have abortions, these places are called crisis pregnancy centres.
If you need help quickly you can contact these organisations:
No. Abortion is available for free on the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Yes. If someone is under 16 but is considered able to consent to their own medical treatment, they can consent to an abortion without needing to tell a parent or carer.
More about your rights when accessing healthcare services
You can go contact your GP who can refer you to an abortion service. Alternatively, in many parts of the country you can refer yourself straight into abortion services without going to see your GP. Visit either British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) or MSI Reproductive Choices UK for further details.
More about how to get an abortion
Yes. Abortion is a very safe procedure, and on average it is much safer than continuing with the pregnancy and giving birth. The earlier an abortion is carried out, the safer it is, too. There is no evidence to suggest that it has an impact on physical or mental health. It is very unlikely that it would impact your future fertility.
But like any other medical procedure, it has a risk attached to it. The doctor or nurse who is advising you should always provide information about the potential risks before you go ahead.
No. You do not need your partner’s agreement to have an abortion, although some people want to discuss the pregnancy with their partner and come to a joint decision.
Page last reviewed: May 2024
100% free & confidential