
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


The Abortion Pill is now the most common way to have an abortion in the US. Yet what exactly happens when you take these pills is shrouded in mystery. Even many doctors don't know how well they work! Today, we're letting the sun shine on the abortion pill. We'll walk you through what happens when you take these pills: what they do to your body, and how safe are they for your physical and mental health? To explore all this - and more - we speak to Dr Sara Whitburn, Professor Oskari Heikinheimo, and Professor Ushma Upadhyay.
UPDATE 7/15/24: The episode has been updated to clarify that surgical abortions do not always happen at a hospital by a doctor, while the patient is under general anesthesia. They can also happen at clinics and patients can get a local anesthetic.
Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsTheAbortionPiill
The Abortion Project's Instagram @theabortionproject
Science Vs's Instagram @science_vs
If you want to talk to someone - there's some great resources in here: spotify.com/resources
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) The battle over the abortion pill
(04:28) How does the abortion pill work?
(09:05) How it feels to take the abortion pill
(14:34) How often do people hemorrhage?
(21:22) What's "normal" bleeding?
(24:11) Does taking the abortion pill affect your mental health?
(32:02) Why some people prefer the abortion pill
This episode was produced by Meryl Horn and Wendy Zukerman, with help from Rose Rimler, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, So Wylie, Bumi Hidaka and Peter Leonard. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Dr. Tiffany Green, Dr. Ned Calonge, Professor Jenny Higgins, Dr. Daniel Aaron, Dr. Beverly Winikoff, and Dr. Abigail Aiken. Also thanks to Lauren Silverman, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.
Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
By Spotify Studios4.4
1170811,708 ratings
The Abortion Pill is now the most common way to have an abortion in the US. Yet what exactly happens when you take these pills is shrouded in mystery. Even many doctors don't know how well they work! Today, we're letting the sun shine on the abortion pill. We'll walk you through what happens when you take these pills: what they do to your body, and how safe are they for your physical and mental health? To explore all this - and more - we speak to Dr Sara Whitburn, Professor Oskari Heikinheimo, and Professor Ushma Upadhyay.
UPDATE 7/15/24: The episode has been updated to clarify that surgical abortions do not always happen at a hospital by a doctor, while the patient is under general anesthesia. They can also happen at clinics and patients can get a local anesthetic.
Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsTheAbortionPiill
The Abortion Project's Instagram @theabortionproject
Science Vs's Instagram @science_vs
If you want to talk to someone - there's some great resources in here: spotify.com/resources
In this episode, we cover:
(00:00) The battle over the abortion pill
(04:28) How does the abortion pill work?
(09:05) How it feels to take the abortion pill
(14:34) How often do people hemorrhage?
(21:22) What's "normal" bleeding?
(24:11) Does taking the abortion pill affect your mental health?
(32:02) Why some people prefer the abortion pill
This episode was produced by Meryl Horn and Wendy Zukerman, with help from Rose Rimler, and Michelle Dang. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord, Emma Munger, So Wylie, Bumi Hidaka and Peter Leonard. Thanks to all the researchers we spoke to including Dr. Tiffany Green, Dr. Ned Calonge, Professor Jenny Higgins, Dr. Daniel Aaron, Dr. Beverly Winikoff, and Dr. Abigail Aiken. Also thanks to Lauren Silverman, the Zukerman Family and Joseph Lavelle Wilson.
Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

91,012 Listeners

78,321 Listeners

43,981 Listeners

32,134 Listeners

30,672 Listeners

43,720 Listeners

27,386 Listeners

26,218 Listeners

3,639 Listeners

6,364 Listeners

4,417 Listeners

3,374 Listeners

24,316 Listeners

2,534 Listeners

2,182 Listeners

1,632 Listeners

350 Listeners

16,239 Listeners

1,973 Listeners

382 Listeners

1,145 Listeners

6,420 Listeners

859 Listeners

2,315 Listeners

536 Listeners

4,465 Listeners

43 Listeners

7 Listeners

12 Listeners

2 Listeners

29 Listeners

8 Listeners

9 Listeners