Safe Abortion App Provides Serious Information
Finding any accurate health information online can be a daunting task these days, and when it comes to abortion, there are anti-abortion groups specifically trying to mislead people who just want information about their own pregnancy and options for ending it.
To fill this gap, Hesperian Health Guides now offers an app specifically designed to educate people about abortion. It’s called Safe Abortion (SA) and it’s free for iOS and Android . In both cases, the developer is listed as Hesperian Health Guides. (I’ll mention this in case copycat apps start popping up; I wouldn’t be surprised.)
The app will appear on the home screen with the name “SA” and a pink icon with two women in silhouette. Once downloaded, the app works offline and does not track your requests. The idea is said developers journal Yes , is to provide information about abortion to people in areas where to get medical care for abortion is not easy. This may include countries where it is illegal, or places like the United States where it can be difficult to access .
When you open the app, the first function you see is a tool for estimating the length of your pregnancy. Enter the start date of your last period and the app will tell you which week you are pregnant and which options are safe at this stage. For example, if I set a date seven weeks ago, the app prompts me for information about abortion by pill (“this is your best option”) and abortion by suction. If you are more than 20 weeks pregnant, the app does not recommend any method, but says, “Talk to your healthcare professional as soon as possible about your options for a safe abortion.”
Even without using an evaluator, you can read information on the three types of abortion (medication, suction, dilation, and evacuation) and compare them in terms of pain, cost, and failure rate.
The app does not go to the advice of specific providers or ways of accessing medications; you seek medical attention on your own. But if you’re just looking for a reliable source of information, this app will give you the basics.