How Many Weeks Pregnant Can You Take Abortion Pills?

This is one of the most common questions we get. The short answer: at Southern Woven, medication abortion is offered from 5 weeks through 13 weeks of pregnancy, dated from the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP).

The longer answer is more interesting, because the cutoffs you'll see vary across providers, the FDA, and the World Health Organization. Here's how to think about it.

Quick Reference

• Earliest: 5 weeks LMP (Southern Woven)
• FDA-approved range: Through 10 weeks LMP
• WHO guideline range: Through 13 weeks LMP (used by many providers)
• Past 13 weeks: Southern Woven doesn't prescribe at this gestation; community pill networks (listed on Plan C) and in-clinic care remain options

How "Weeks Pregnant" Are Counted

Pregnancy is measured from the first day of your last menstrual period, not from conception. So by the time someone misses a period, they're typically already 4–5 weeks pregnant by medical counting.

If that math is unfamiliar, our post on how far along am I? walks through it in detail. There's also a pregnancy calculator if you want to plug in dates and skip the arithmetic.

Why 5 Weeks Is the Earliest

Several studies have shown that medication abortion before 5 weeks LMP has a higher failure rate than later in pregnancy. Why?

At very early gestational ages, the pregnancy may not yet be detectable by hormone levels in a fully reliable way, and the hormonal pathway that mifepristone disrupts isn't yet firmly established. The result is a meaningfully higher chance the medication is incomplete and the pregnancy continues — which means another round of medication or a procedural follow-up.

Because of this, Southern Woven and most telehealth providers recommend waiting until at least 5 weeks LMP before taking the pills. Five weeks is typically about a week after a missed period for someone with a regular cycle.

If you're earlier than 5 weeks and you're sure about your decision, there are a few options:

• Wait a few days until you reach the 5-week mark — the pills will be more effective.
• Start a consultation now — depending on your timeline, your intake may move forward and pills may ship to arrive close to the 5-week point.
• Consider missed period pills — see our post on missed period pills for that approach, which is most useful just after a late period.

Why 10 Weeks (FDA) vs. 13 Weeks (WHO)?

You'll see different upper limits depending on the source. Both are based on real evidence — they reflect different regulatory and clinical traditions.

FDA: Through 10 Weeks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone in 2000 with a labeled indication for use through 70 days (10 weeks) gestation. That's the limit you'll see in many U.S. clinical settings, simply because it's what's on the FDA label.

WHO: Through 13 Weeks

The World Health Organization, after reviewing the global evidence, updated its abortion care guidelines in 2022 to support medication abortion through 13 weeks gestation in the home/self-managed setting. Decades of international data — particularly from countries where medication abortion is the standard of care — show that the same regimen remains safe and effective through 13 weeks.

Many U.S. telehealth providers, including Southern Woven, follow the WHO guidance and offer care through 13 weeks. The medications are the same; the dosing and process are essentially the same. The success rate dips slightly at later gestations but remains high — generally 95–98% through 9 weeks, around 93–95% from 10–13 weeks.

Why Different Providers Use Different Cutoffs

You may notice that some clinics or telehealth services stop at 10 weeks while others go to 11, 12, or 13. A few reasons:

• Adherence to the FDA label — some providers stick to the 10-week FDA range as a conservative choice.
• Clinical comfort and protocols — providers may set their own evidence-based limits.
• Local practice patterns — some regions follow FDA-only norms by tradition.
• Patient supports available — at later gestations, the experience is heavier, and providers want to be sure follow-up support is in place.

None of these cutoffs is "wrong." They're different reasonable choices, all backed by evidence.

What Changes Between 5 and 13 Weeks?

The medications and dose are the same. What shifts is the experience:

• Bleeding is heavier at later gestations.
• Cramping tends to be more intense.
• What you pass is more visible — at 5–7 weeks, most people see clots; closer to 12–13 weeks, the tissue is more recognizable.
• Time to complete is similar — symptoms can begin anywhere from 30 minutes up to 24 hours after misoprostol; once they start, most people complete the active process within a few hours, though it can stretch over a couple of days.

For a detailed look at what to expect at each stage, see our post on abortion pills week by week.

What If I'm Past 13 Weeks?

Southern Woven prescribes medication abortion through 13 weeks. Past that point, we don't manage care directly — primarily because of the legal risk environment around later self-managed medication abortion in the U.S., not because the medications stop working.

That distinction matters: medication abortion past 13 weeks is still possible. The same medications continue to work, and community-based aid networks support people seeking later medication abortion outside of formal clinical channels. Plan C maintains an up-to-date directory of options, including community networks that operate beyond the 13-week mark.

Other paths people consider past 13 weeks:

• In-clinic medication abortion at a provider that handles second-trimester care
• Procedural (in-clinic) abortion, which is available later than medication abortion in many places
• Travel to a state with broader access, depending on where you live

Resources that can help:

• Plan C — plancpills.org, a directory of pill providers and community networks across the gestational range
• AbortionFinder.org — a directory of clinical providers by state and gestational age
• National Abortion Federation Hotline — 1-800-772-9100, with funding assistance for those who qualify
• All-Options Talkline — 1-888-493-0092, for non-judgmental support exploring options

How Can I Be Sure of My Gestational Age?

You don't need to be exact to start an intake — but a reasonable estimate helps. The simplest method:

1. Find the first day of your last menstrual period.
2. Count the number of weeks from then until today.
3. That's your gestational age.

If your cycles are irregular or you're not sure when your last period was, our how far along am I? post walks through several ways to estimate. A clinician can also help during your consultation.

The Bottom Line

At Southern Woven, abortion pills are offered from 5 weeks through 13 weeks of pregnancy. The medications work the same throughout that range; the experience gets heavier as you progress. Earlier than 5 weeks, the pills are less reliable. Past 13 weeks, Southern Woven doesn't prescribe — but other paths exist, from in-clinic care to community pill networks listed on Plan C.

If you're not sure where you fall, start a consultation — our team can help you figure it out.

Wondering if you're in the window? Start a free, confidential consultation or call us at 845-THE-PILL.

This information is for educational purposes and is not a substitute for medical advice. Content reviewed by the Southern Woven Medical Team. Last updated: May 2026. Sources: FDA, WHO Abortion Care Guideline 2022, ACOG, Society of Family Planning.