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Investigation: Women aborting in third trimester with 'black market' abortion pills

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Key Findings

A recent investigation by The Sun uncovered a black market for abortion pills operating in the UK. This illegal network targets women via social media platforms like Facebook, offering late-term abortions, even up to eight months of pregnancy and for women carrying twins. The investigation highlights accounts from women detailing both positive and negative experiences, some describing near-fatal complications and severe regret.

Concerns and Risks

Medical professionals and pro-choice advocates alike condemn this practice, citing the significant health risks associated with unsupervised, high-dose, or late-term use of abortion pills. These risks include severe pain, heavy bleeding, vomiting, and potential need for life-saving surgical interventions due to incomplete abortion.

The current UK abortion pill protocol which doesn't require confirming gestational age or checking for contraindications is also noted as exacerbating this dangerous black market. The lack of medical supervision associated with this unregulated market increases potential complications.

Impact and Perspectives

Legitimate online abortion pill providers like Women on Web report that this illegal activity negatively affects their business and their ability to reach individuals who need safe and accurate information. The lack of oversight also raises concerns about the sourcing of pills, potentially from unreliable manufacturers in countries like India and China.

A study examining insurance data further supports the dangers, reporting serious adverse event rates of abortion pills far higher than FDA-reported rates, particularly later in pregnancy.

The investigation highlights the significant risks associated with unregulated access to abortion pills.
Both medical professionals and legitimate abortion pill providers raise serious concerns about the safety and efficacy of the pills acquired from the black market.
The article points to the current UK abortion pill protocol as a contributing factor, allowing women to access medication without verification of pregnancy stage or health status.

An investigation from The Sun found that a black market abortion pill ring is flourishing in the United Kingdom (UK), encouraging women to undergo extremely late chemical abortions. Abortion is legal in the UK through 24 weeks gestation, and can even be committed after this point if the preborn child has been diagnosed with a disability.

According to the investigation, international sellers are targeting women on social media platforms like Facebook. Women as late as eight months into pregnancy are allegedly being targeted, as well as women pregnant with twins.

One woman posted of the horrific experience she went through, adding broken heart and crying emojis to her remarks. “Finally I’m free yooh (sic) the pain I almost died I was 7_8 months (sic),” she wrote. “It was a girl & boy (twins) I regret doing it.”

Another person, however, felt differently. “I was 5-6 months pregnant and now I am free. Took the pills yesterday at 8:30pm and finished the whole process at 6am.”

The UK allows women to order abortion pills online through 10 weeks of pregnancy.

This “black market” practice is being condemned by medical practitioners and pro-abortion activists alike.

“The key danger with so-called ‘black market’ abortion pills is that they are often used without medical supervision, at incorrect doses, or well beyond the recommended time frame,” said pharmacist Deborah Grayson of Practice With Confidence, adding:

Women have reported experiencing extremely traumatic outcomes — excruciating pain, heavy blood loss described as ‘gushing’, vomiting, sweating and intense emotional distress — all without medical support. That kind of experience, particularly if complications arise, can be both dangerous and frightening.

If any pregnancy tissue remains, surgical intervention may be required, which carries its own risks — especially if the womb is damaged in the process. The further along the pregnancy, the greater the danger.

And yet, the abortion pill’s “no-test”protocol already allows women to receive the abortion pill regimen (mifepristone and misoprostol) without confirming gestational age, contraindications, or ectopic pregnancy. In other words, any woman can technically receive mail-order abortion pills without providing any proof that she is early in her pregnancy. And the side effects Grayson mentioned can happen to any woman, at any gestational age, who takes the abortion pill.

Veronica Fernández, Operations Manager of abortion organization Women on Web, which sells women mail-order abortion pills, complained that this scheme is affecting their bottom line:

You may be scammed into receiving the wrong medication or dose, or none at all, and you won’t receive accurate, complete information. Both reliable medication and comprehensive guidance are essential for safely self‑managing your abortion.

Platforms like Facebook struggle to distinguish our legitimate research and medically-vetted content from that of these illegal sellers. As a result, our posts are sometimes incorrectly flagged, suppressed, or removed, making it harder for people to find accurate, trustworthy information, while unreliable sellers remain easily accessible.

There’s no doubt that this kind of black market behavior is dangerous to women. But again, online abortion businesses are already operating this way, with no tests, no confirmation of gestational age, and no doctor oversight.

READ: Alarming ‘no test’ abortion pill protocol: No ultrasounds, no labs, and just take women’s best guess

Numerous online abortion pill chains source their pills from shoddy factories in countries like India and China, despite red flags. These abortion pill businesses utilize doctors who prescribe pills to women they have never met and have never examined, with the pills manufactured in India and then sent to the customers. There is no assurance that there are no contraindications or that the pills are actually being ordered by the abortion-seeking women themselves.

A recent study examined insurance data regarding more than 865,000 mifepristone (abortion pill) prescriptions from 2017 to 2023, and its researchers stated that their analysis found a 22 times higher rate of “serious adverse events” (serious complications) than the rate currently reported by the FDA for the drug. The later in gestation the drug is taken, the greater the risk of incomplete abortion — a complication that can lead to infection or sepsis, and even death.