# 1

A doctor can detect that you’ve had an abortion

No one can detect if a woman has had one or more abortions, because it does not leave any traces. Pregnancy itself does leave traces, however. The pregnancy hormone Beta-HCG dissipates slowly from the body, and a pregnancy test can still be positive up to 4-6 weeks after.

If you have a medical abortion using the drugs mifepristone and misoprostol (or misoprostol alone), the effect is like a natural miscarriage, and it is impossible for a doctor to tell the difference. The drugs are metabolized within 24 – 48 hours and would not be detected in any conventional blood test.

Even if you have complications such as infection or retained tissue, these can occur just as commonly in a miscarriage.

The only time a doctor may suspect that you’ve had a previous abortion, is if you had an unsafe abortion in which you suffered serious complications that left scarring or other signs of permanent injury to your uterus or cervix.

Sources:

Women on Waves, Misoprostol, abortion pill, cytotec

Dr. Aarti Abraham (Health Care Magic), Can mifepristone and misoprostol be detected by blood test? (2013)