Medical Abortion in the Philippines, The Whole Process on How I Did it

I'm 22 years old, and my boyfriend is 24. We are both college students in the Philippines. Both of us are really careful when it comes to having sex [we usually wear condoms, and I was on the pill before but stopped due to health reasons]. The catch is, one day we were really in the heat of the moment that we forgot to double-check if it was a 'safe day' on my calendar. My period comes regularly, and we only engage in unprotected sex when I'm way past ovulation. The thing is, he finished inside of me. We got really nervous and immediately checked my calendar. It was the last day of my ovulation phase. We hurriedly bought an ovulation test kit, and it turned out positive.

Since abortion is banned in the Philippines, there are very few choices for us. We have no access to Plan B pills or medical assistance. That being said, we opted for 'natural' methods of preventing implantation and early pregnancy, which we read about in multiple online articles.

Most of the methods included: drinking alcoholic beverages, eating papaya and pineapple, doing harsh exercises, taking huge doses of Vit C, etc. We tried all of these methods throughout the first and second week after our intercourse. Long story short, NONE of them worked.

When it was time for my monthly period, which was 3 weeks after we had unprotected sex, it did not come on the first day. Well, it doesn't always come right away; usually, I experience delays of 1-3 days. So I thought everything was normal. I am also experiencing light to moderate abdominal cramps, which I often experience before my period comes.

Fast forward, I am now 3 days late for my period. While lying down with my boyfriend, I suddenly felt weird and dizzy. This does not often happen to me, so I thought it was really weird. I asked my boyfriend to buy a pregnancy test kit because I feel really weird for some reason.

When I took the test, the lines appeared almost instantly and were really bright purple. It is to be expected, based on the time we had sex and the period it took before I took the PT, I am probably in my 1st trimester, almost 3 weeks into gestation (I am in a medical-related course nursing in college, that is why I have book-based medical knowledge).

It was really shocking; we are both in college and are almost nearing our graduation and OJT. We couldn't let our parents know since they will make us keep the baby. The thought really scared us since we are not physically, mentally, and financially prepared to have a baby.

After knowing, we searched the internet on where we can buy or seek medical abortion pills. We also read some Reddit posts about Fredli, Safe2Choose, Women on Web, MifePhillipines; however, we are afraid that if we order from there, it might take too long to be shipped, and the baby might grow bigger, which could make it more difficult to evacuate. That is when we stumbled upon a Facebook account that is offering Medical Abortion Pills in the Philippines.

The account has multiple testimonies with blurred-out pictures of bloody clots or some humanoid baby shape that is covered with emojis. We stalked the page, and it has been posting the same content for almost a year. We cross-checked the stuff they post if they are just getting pictures from the internet and using them to scam people. But, we did not see anything similar on the internet, and all the pictures were different from each other.

We are still very skeptical; we don't want to waste money on a scam, or we don't want to risk any complications that may occur if the pills are fake, etc. It took us a day just examining the account, its affiliated website, and all other things. Leaving us with no choice, we sent a message, and they instantly replied.

They promptly asked about when my last cycle was. I replied that it was last month on the 15th. She replied that I am in the 0-6 weeks of gestation, which requires 6 misoprostol, 6 mifepristone, 4 antihemorrhage. It was quite different from what I've read on Planned Parenthood and other sources that only need 1 mife and 4 miso. She did not tell us the procedure upfront, so I thought the other medicine was for countermeasure.

We asked for the price, and she gave us 2 options: option 1 generic brand [unreadable Arabic on the back of the medicine], option 2 is Pfizer. The first option is relatively cheaper, costing 3500 pesos, while the second one is 4500. We chose to buy the Pfizer one just to be sure. They gave an option for cash on delivery and paying upfront. However, the COD option requires a minimum downpayment of 500 pesos.

After sending our delivery address, we used a fake name to prevent any legal complications since it is illegal to purchase the pills. They asked us to send a selfie with an ID. We just edited a fake ID and used the fake name we used on the delivery address. We also did some editing on my face so I was not recognizable. After sending all of this, they said they will process the shipment and give us the tracking number at 4 pm that same day.

After waiting for hours, they sent the tracking via LBC. Since we reside in Metro Manila, we expected the package to arrive earlier. The next afternoon, the package was delivered to our home. It was very discreet, and the medicine was sealed and placed in a compact box. It contained 6 misoprostol, 6 mifepristone, 4 antihemorrhage pills.

When it arrived, we were tasked to send the proof of delivery in a GC where other people are also availing. Maybe this is their way of proving their credibility. We were entertained by the person (they said they were a doctor and go by the name Dr. S***** who sold us the pills). Well, we do not really believe this, but as I've said, we have no other choice. The doctor (aka. pill seller) asked us what route do we want to take when taking the pill. She gave us two options: option 1 orally, and option 2 is vaginally. She explained to us that option 1 only has a success rate of 75%, unlike option 2, which is more efficient and the success rate was guaranteed. Since we don't want to buy the expensive pills again in case of failing, we chose the second option, which is to insert the pills in the vagina.

She sent us a very long paragraph on what to do and not to do, and how the procedure will take place. I am only going to summarize the gist of it (if you want to know the full, I could comment it down if you like). It was a 7-day long preparation. In that whole 7 days, I was only allowed to have light meals because on the 7th day before the procedure I needed to fast for 24 hours and another 7 hours while undergoing the procedure proper. They told me that I needed to do moderate exercise, drink 5 cups of ginger daily, drink coke, have lots of sex, refrain from drinking cold water, etc.

They also instructed me to buy Evening Primrose Oil 1000 mg, which is a medication for softening my cervix and can be bought over the counter. One pill of Evening Primrose costs 32 pesos, and I needed 14 pills in total, which cost 448 pesos. In the morning, I would drink one orally, and in the evening, I would insert one in my vagina after steaming it for 15 minutes. I had to remain elevated by the hips to keep the pill in my vagina.

With the help of my boyfriend, we managed to complete all the tasks. Thankfully, he was really supportive and caring throughout the process. We even bought candles and thought of a name to commemorate the baby. Although we cannot raise the baby right now, it does not mean that we did not have any love for it. We just weren't ready, and if we have a child, we want to give it the life it deserves.

During the whole week of the process, I felt really sensitive to smell, was always nauseous, and had a low-grade fever in the evening. It was really difficult to go to school, but I pushed through. Finally, the 7th day has come, by this time I am probably 4 weeks pregnant. I went on a fast for 24 hours. I was only allowed to eat small bits of crackers. I managed to survive the whole day and even attended school. At night, we were ready to proceed with the abortion. The pill seller told me to steam my vagina for 15 minutes, 3 times. I did it, then she told us to insert 4 misoprostol inside while my hips were elevated by a pillow. After an hour, I was told to drink the 2 remaining misoprostol orally. Then, after hours of an interval, she made me drink the 3 mifepristone, then I drank the other 3 after another hour.

During the 7-hour process, I felt cramping, similar to period cramps. I also felt the urge to poop. However, I was not allowed to stand up for the whole 7 hours. I did manage to survive the whole 7 hours, which was excruciatingly painful. After that, I was asked to go to the bathroom and push as hard as I could. The moment I stood up, I felt blood falling from my vagina. I also felt a strong urge to poop. Diarrhea was a common side effect of misoprostol. I saw blood clots on my pad that I had worn for the whole 7 hours. We took pictures and sent them to the pill seller. I really had bad watery diarrhea and probably flushed some tissue while pushing in the toilet. I almost fainted in the bathroom, not due to the pain but maybe from hunger.

After cleaning thoroughly, I did not want to risk sepsis or shock from a bacterial infection, so I made sure to clean with warm water very thoroughly. I sat down and drank cold water. Thankfully, my boyfriend was with me throughout the process, which made it less painful because he was there for me.

I changed into long thin pads and lay down on the bench. He ordered "lugaw" or porridge to warm my belly and also made warm milk for me. I put the warm cup of milk on my belly to ease the pain since I was not allowed to drink painkillers during the process. I ate the porridge, and it felt like I was lighter. I still had cramps, but they were manageable. I still drank the painkillers after eating. I went to rest after eating while my boyfriend cleaned up the blood and mess from the procedure.

In the morning, I had very heavy bleeding and cramps, which are normal. I changed my sanitary pads every 4 hours to prevent bacterial infection. I was allowed to eat again and drink cold beverages. We are still being monitored by the pill seller and are tasked to send pictures of all the blood that will be expelled from me.

I searched online for clinics that offer transvaginal ultrasound, just to make sure I don't have tissue left in me. I found one around Manila that is generally cheap, costing around 690 pesos, and plan to go there 1-2 weeks or once I stop bleeding.

Overall, the experience was very traumatic, and it really shows how women's health should be prioritized in our country. We were just lucky that we were fortunate enough to have access to the internet and have enough financially to buy such pills. The whole process cost us around 5000-6000 pesos, including all the meds and other precautionary things we bought. The stress we experienced cannot be accounted for by money. Thankfully, we managed to get through this. It made me think of all the other women and children who are in need of medical assistance; the Philippines really needs to step up their game when it comes public health care and prioritize women's and children health more.