After the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June, many US states decided to ban abortion. In countries like El Salvador, Egypt, Iraq and Madagascar they are already illegal. Recently, users have started posting tips on social media, mainly TikTok and Instagram, on how to induce abortion at home with parsley, black cohosh and fleabane. Some have claimed that papaya and other fruits could also be used. But are any of these herbs and fruits suitable for causing abortions? And if so, are they safe?
Claim: A TikTok user recently shared the following post: “Are you in a state that just banned abortion? Herbs work as medicine too.” Then in the comments section, she he claimed that sage, parsley and lycopodium could be consumed to induce an abortion.
DW Fact Check: deceptive
Women can try to induce an abortion by eating herbs, making herbal teas, applying herbs vaginally, or injecting herbal extracts. Experts say women have used these methods in the past and warn they can be potentially dangerous. “I have to warn all women not to use plant-based products to induce abortion because their effects are unpredictable,” says Roland Seifert of the Institute of Pharmacology at the Medical University of Hannover.
There are very few studies examining the effectiveness of herbs and other plants in inducing abortion. One of the reasons for this comes from the fact that women who want to terminate their pregnancy have been found for mixing herbsvarying the amount and time of their intake, and sometimes also performing self-inflicted instrumental manipulations, according to a study by the University of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.
Although ingestion of the herb was found to sometimes cause abortions, this carried a “risk of serious morbidity and mortality”. This is confirmed by Larissa Leibrock-Plehn, who wrote her doctoral thesis on the history of herbal abortifacients. “There can be no safe abortion with plant products,” says Leibrock-Plehn. Attempting to do so will be “ineffective or dangerous, depending on the dose.”
Around 45% of all abortions are unsafe, says the World Health Organization (WHO). These abortions are usually carried out without medical advice and are carried out by people who do not have the necessary experience, who may carry out the procedure incorrectly or in an unhygienic manner.
Herbal remedies to terminate pregnancy can be lethal
The aforementioned The Uruguay study looked at 86 cases of self-induced abortions with herbs. Some of the women were found to be suffering from multiple organ failure leading to death. Others suffered from liver and blood disorders.
A Atlanta Center for Disease Control 1980s study found that people who attempt an abortion with herbal remedies may consume more such products if the desired effect is not achieved, thereby increasing the risk of intoxication. This could harm the health of the fetus if the abortion is unsuccessful.
Despite these known risks, some social media users have recommended consuming a number of herbs to terminate unwanted pregnancies at home. Here, we take a look at four of them.
parsley
On the Internet, some claim that parsley, an herb commonly used to flavor soups and other dishes, can be used to terminate a pregnancy. In fact, the Uruguayan study found that women had used the herb for this purpose, sometimes in combination with other herbal remedies. Parsley contains apiol and myristicin, two oils that can be toxic.
Parsley is commonly used to season dishes
The paper found that some women who had used parsley and other herbs experienced multiple organ failure. Applying the herb vaginally can also cause bleeding, Seifert warns.
The chemical components contained in parsley could enter the woman’s bloodstream through vaginal tears, causing a series of side effects. This can lead to multiple organ, liver, kidney, or cardiovascular failure, Seifert says. “You don’t know how much of these substances are in your body, and so the effect becomes unpredictable.”
Pennyroyal
Doctors and toxicologists warn against the consumption of pennyroyal to terminate pregnancy. On Twitter, toxicologists Josh Trebach called the weed “incredibly dangerous.” can cause “liver failure, seizures and death.”
Women have died from consuming pennyroyal
This is supported by the National Library of Medicine, which states that there is “some evidence that pennyroyal oil can cause abortions by causing the uterus to contract. But the dose needed to cause an abortion could kill the mother or cause lifelong kidney and liver damage.” . Cases of Pennyroyal poisoning and death have been documented.
papaya
For centuries, the indigenous peoples of Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar have been using papaya as an abortifacient. A rat study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that consumption of ripe papaya does not cause abortions. Semi-ripe or green papaya, however, contains higher concentrations of latex, which can induce spasmodic contractions of the uterine muscles. The authors conclude that more research is needed, as knowledge gained from animal studies is not always applicable to humans.
Papaya has been used by indigenous peoples in Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar to induce abortions
Eating normal ripe papaya poses no risk of inducing abortions, says Seifert. “If you let a papaya ferment, of course, toxic substances will be produced in the fruit,” according to the pharmacologist. These, he says, pose a risk to both fetuses and mothers.
black cohosh
Black cohosh has also been recommended on social media as an herbal abortifacient. A study by the University of California and Ibis Reproductive Health confirmed that some people have tried to use the herb to terminate a pregnancy. It is not yet clear whether it acts as an abortifacient, as no evidence points in that direction. Very little research has been done in this field.
Black cohosh extract is used to treat women suffering from menopause
To date, black cohosh has been studied primarily in relation to the treatment of women experiencing menopause. Grass is often used to treat the depleting effects of estrogen. Black cohosh extract is processed into pills and given to patients, Leibrock-Plehn says.
Black cohosh is sometimes consumed to induce labor. However, there is at least one documented case where the herb caused serious adverse effects in a newborn.
verdict
Claiming that certain herbs and plants can be used as abortifacients is misleading. Some can cause poisoning which in turn can cause an abortion. This, however, can put the lives of pregnant women at risk. Therefore, choosing to use herbal remedies to terminate pregnancy is unsafe and potentially lethal.
