Not all misoprostol abortions are so painful or risky. Doctors recommend that women take misoprostol with another medication, mifepristone, which prepares the body for the process, making the procedure easier.
But mifepristone is difficult to find in Venezuela, so most women do it the hard way.
When Jessika woke up, her friends encouraged her to go to the hospital.
“Don’t take me anywhere,” she said.
She was afraid of the police.
Then she spent weeks replaying the night’s events.
“You say to yourself, ‘Well, it happened, but it could have been worse. It could have been different. I could have died in the process, but I didn’t, and it’s okay, ‘”she said.
“But it’s not all right,” she continued.
“It’s not okay that I had to have an abortion in a warehouse. It’s not okay that I passed out, that I was depressed, it’s not okay that I feel this way, ”she said, the words coming out of anger. “It is not certain that the country will push him into this despair, that everything he does will close the doors for you. I am resilient, yes. But at some point, we all get tired. And I’m tired. I am so tired.”
In the absence of other assistance, some non-profit organizations have become essential resources for women, offering free or low-cost contraception. Most are maintained by international funds.
In the five clinics managed by one of these entities, Plafam, the waiting rooms are always full. Women sometimes sleep outside the house, desperate to be among those who receive free contraceptive implants on delivery days.