Here’s the short answer: No. Your weight won't affect how well abortion pills work.
There are a few things that can impact abortion pill effectiveness, such as how far along your pregnancy is when you take it, but abortion pills work most of the time. If you’re still pregnant after using abortion pills, you can take more medicine or have an in-clinic procedure.
Morning-after pills, aka emergency contraception, are very different from abortion pills. Unlike abortion pills, your weight can impact how well morning-after pills work. Over-the-counter pills like Plan B, Take Action, My Way, and others may not work if you weigh more than 165 pounds.
There’s a different kind of emergency contraception called ella that’s more effective than Plan B-type pills, especially if you weigh more than 165 pounds. But if you weigh 195 pounds or more, ella may work less well. And you need a prescription from a nurse or doctor to get ella.
If you have questions about the abortion pill or emergency contraception, you can ask one of our live health educators completely confidentially and free of charge.
For more information, you can read the full blog post here.
— Kendall at Planned Parenthood
*Note: Planned Parenthood is not responsible for nor does it endorse any legal, medical, or other advice or information provided by any of the entities identified or referenced herein or by any other third parties, whether referenced herein or not.
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