A new study finds that many women may be surprised by the intensity of pain they experience during a chemical abortion.

ResearchPublished this week in the journal BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, women in the UK who took abortion pills to end their pregnancies were surveyed and asked about the pain they experienced.

About half of those surveyed said they experienced more pain than they expected. The majority of respondents (92%) rated their pain at least 4 out of 10 on the pain scale, while more than 40% rated their pain as severe (8-10).

abortifacient, also known as abortion pill chemical or medical abortionincluding the use of two drug regimens, mifepristone and misoprostol, to terminate pregnancy. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the pills are the most common abortion method provided by U.S. health care providers, accounting for more than 60 percent of abortions nationwide.

FILE – A patient prepares to take mifepristone, the first of two combination pills, for a medical abortion during a visit at a clinic in Kansas City, Kansas, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022. A law requires doctors to disclose how to stop medication – and abortions won’t be performed until a court rules. (AP Photo/Charlie Riddell, File)

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Nearly 1,600 women, most aged between 20 and 39, took the survey. About half of those surveyed said they had never given birth before.

Two-thirds of respondents said they would choose the abortion pill again if needed in the future, but 13% said they would choose a surgical abortion, which would involve severe pain for most in this group. as a factor.

While some women felt the pain was no worse than period cramps, other women surveyed said the pain was much worse than they expected. The women said pain levels were “downplayed” or “sugar-coated” in the information provided to them by medical professionals before taking the medication.

“The pain is much more intense than period pain, like labor contractions. I’ve had three births and the pain is really not that different from that pain, which is cramping contraction pain,” one respondent said .

Pro-abortion rights activists attend the Our Freedom Rally in Orlando, Florida to protect Floridians’ abortion rights. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images) (Chandan Khanna/AFP)

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The researchers concluded that patients need access to “accurate, realistic information about pain” to manage pain and support “informed consent for choice of abortion method.”

“Women want more detailed and realistic information to make treatment choices and to prepare for medical abortion, if they wish to do so,” wrote Hannah McCulloh, the study’s lead author. Medical abortion is a very safe and effective option. This review has led us at BPAS to create new patient materials and provide additional staff training, which we are currently evaluating.”

anti-abortion activist Abby JohnsonThe former Planned Parenthood director who now helps women leave the abortion industry says the new study reveals a truth about chemical abortion that isn’t often talked about.

“It’s time to release studies like this because women are not being told the truth about what to expect during a medical abortion or the true extent of pain they may feel,” Johnson said in a press release.

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“I hope they realize that they have never been told the truth about medical abortion and that unfortunately their desperation is used as a money-making tool by the abortion industry. When I was given the abortion pill and taken to my hospital, I That’s certainly how it felt, “in a happy way, only to later discover the absolute horror of medical abortion,” she added.

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The abortion pill was first approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000 and can be taken within a specified time. 10 weeks before pregnancy.

June, Supreme Court Rejected a challenge to the FDA’s regulatory approval process for mifepristone raised by a group of anti-abortion doctors and medical associations.

A lower court concluded that the federal agency did not adequately consider potential health risks to women when it began revising mifepristone regulations in 2016. The revisions (last updated in 2023) include measures such as reducing the recommended dose, allowing the drug to be used up to 10 weeks of pregnancy (starting at seven weeks), approving a generic version and allowing it to be mailed (eliminating in-person visits).

The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) (AP Photo)

The Biden administration and the makers of mifepristone are asking the court to overturn an appellate ruling that would have cut off access to the drug through the mail and imposed other restrictions, even in states where abortion remains legal.

in a victory Biden administration The Supreme Court, backed by abortion-rights supporters, preserved access to the abortion pill and unanimously ruled that the FDA’s challengers lacked standing to sue the government.

Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy and Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.