How medication abortion works and what the end of Roe v. Wade could mean for it

Containers of mifepristone and misoprostol — medications used to end a pregnancy — sit on a table inside of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Fairview Heights, Ill. (Jeff Roberson / AP)

Roe v. Wade could soon be overturned — meaning abortion is "certain or likely" to be banned in 26 states, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights. If clinics that provide abortion shut down, women who can't travel to other states may turn to telehealth prescriptions or underground networks to obtain abortion pills, making that method of ending a pregnancy even more common.

Here's what to know about the pills and how they work.