“Is the morning after pill abortion?” No. This is a popular misconception that lumps together two unrelated things, and is unfortunately hard to shift! But it’s understandable that the word “abortion” raises questions and makes you hesitate. Taking the morning after pill has nothing to do with a medical abortion (voluntary termination of pregnancy), since it’s a matter of avoiding pregnancy, by delaying ovulation, and not terminating it.
What happens after unprotected or poorly protected sex?
It happens: whether you forgot to take a pill, the condom failed, or you just forgot to use contraception, the precautions remain the same. The sperm sent to the bottom of the vagina goes up through the cervix to the uterus, then into the fallopian tubes, where they wait for ovulation and the descent of the egg cell. The egg cell is then released by one of the two ovaries during ovulation. The egg cell is able to live up to 12 to 24 hours, while the sperm is able to live up to 5 days in the fallopian tubes.
If the two meet, then fertilisation occurs. The fertilised egg will then continue its descent to the uterus, where it will implant in the wall after fertilisation: this is called implantation. It’s often mistakenly thought that pregnancy starts from fertilisation, but this isn’t the case! It only starts once the egg is properly embedded. This implantation is promoted by the thickening of the endometrium, the lining of the uterus.
What does the morning after pill do?
The morning after pill blocks or delays ovulation, which prevents the sperm waiting in the fallopian tubes from fertilizing the egg as it descends to your uterus.
Summarized: the morning after pill works by delaying ovulation. No ovulation means no fertilization. No fertilization means there’s no possibility of implantation (the start of a pregnancy).
