MSF and Women First Digital launch groundbreaking video series on self-managed abortion

“Our experience in MSF confirms that you don’t need clinical tests, medical equipment, or surgical facilities in order to make an abortion with pills safe,” says Dr. Manisha Kumar, head of MSF's task force on safe abortion care. “What you need for a safe abortion with pills is accurate information, quality medication, and  mutual respect and trust.” 

In addition to availability on social media, the new videos will be hosted on the HowToUse site under "online courses" as well as here. Viewers will be given the tools to discern how to have a safe abortion with pills—what factors to consider, how to use the medication correctly, and what to expect during and after the process.

To ensure the information is widely accessible and understood, the video will be available in English, French, Arabic, Hindi, Spanish, and Portuguese with subtitles in 21 more languages. Each 2–3-minute video provides factual, evidence-based information about self-managed abortion using warm and approachable animated graphics and a reassuring and informative tone.

The questions addressed within the videos include:

1. How to confirm a pregnancy?
2. How far along is my pregnancy?
3. How does an abortion with pills work?
4. How do I take mifepristone and misoprostol to have an abortion before 13 weeks?
5. How do I only take misoprostol to have an abortion before 13 weeks?
6. What will I experience during an abortion with pills?
7. What are the signs of complication during an abortion with pills?
8. What happens after I have an abortion with pills?

"Our role as health care providers should be to make abortion care as safe, comfortable, and dignified as possible," says Dr. Kumar. "This means enabling people to decide for themselves how, when, and where they have an abortion and with whose support, not being gatekeepers to this essential health care. Self-managed abortion is about more than increasing access: It's about upholding people’s autonomy and ensuring they can take the lead in their own care. People everywhere should have access to respectful and safe abortion care."