You Should Never Use Pennyroyal Tea to Induce an Abortion.
Ever since Roe v. Wade was dropped, people have been talking about what abortion was like in the days before modern medical procedures. Even in ancient history, abortions were performed both surgically and medicinally; Ben Franklin is known to have included a herbal abortion protocol in one of his books . And therefore, of course, in recent days, methods of artificial termination of pregnancy at home have been discussed a lot. Herbs sound better than hangers, don’t they?
This advice will kill someone. And I don’t mean the way TikTokers smirk when they say “Oh, you definitely don’t want to drink mint tea…” which, let me tell you, is a very popular social media post genre. those days.
What are the best herbs for abortion at home?
None of them, honestly. If you need an abortion, start with clinics and helplines that operate in or near your area. ( The National Abortion Fund Network can help you find support near you.) If you’re in early pregnancy and hoping to find something you can take at home, you really need misoprostol, taken alone or with mifepristone. These are pills, not herbs. They work and they are safe. Before Rowe was overthrown, there were 20 states where you could legally get these pills in the mail and use them for abortion.
Today, their legality may vary in your area, but these websites are legal and can help you access abortion medications:
What’s wrong with herbs?
First of all, if you think of herbs as a fun, quirky, calming natural way to get your remedy, you’re wrong. Herbs have been (and still are) used as medicines, but the experience isn’t usually like, “Mmm, I’m drinking this delicious tea and I’ll be feeling better soon.” If you’re taking something that only “works” as a placebo, that might be it.
But more commonly, medical “herbs” are preparations of potent plant-derived toxins, and even historically people have risked side effects ranging from vomiting to organ damage and death.
However, many of these herbs did not work as intended. Sometimes medical prescriptions were passed down because they seemed like they should work, or because they were included in an herbal mixture that seemed to work at least once. There are times when drug prescriptions are incorrectly copied from one book to another and passed on anyway. You can’t laugh at old doctors and their bloodletting if you’re also copying old midwives’ prescriptions and their herbs. The fact that something is rumored to have been used a long time ago is not proof that it should be used for that purpose today.
Not to mention that rumors are not really a good enough basis for a medical protocol. If you’re going to fuck with your life and health, you’re going to need more information than just someone on TikTok telling you to definitely not brew this tea or drink this essential oil when your period is late.
Herbal Abortions Can Literally Kill You
Inducing an abortion with herbs is risky, and not just because it may not be effective. The most famous abortive herbs have a body counter.
For example, here are two cases of ingestion of pennyroyal oil, described in 1979. One woman swallowed about 30 milliliters of oil in what doctors suspect was either an attempted abortion or suicide. She was admitted to the hospital vomiting blood and died two days later from internal bleeding and liver and kidney damage, among other symptoms. In the second case, a woman drank 10 milliliters of oil, went to the hospital due to severe dizziness, and returned home a few days later with a normally functioning liver. However, she was still pregnant.
The funny thing about using pennyroyal as an abortifacient is that it probably doesn’t even work. “Human data says no unless the woman is poisoned first,” toxicologist Ryan Marino tweeted .
Some other herbs can cause an abortion without necessarily killing you, but if you’re of that mindset, it might be worth asking yourself if you really don’t have any other options. Herbalist Crystal Honeycutt said to Mick :
“You absolutely can induce an abortion [with herbs], but that’s the point,” Honeycutt said. “Not only are you experiencing intense pain, you may also be experiencing severe emotional or spiritual upheavals. Your body goes through the (w)call; may inadvertently start bleeding. The same risks as with a medical procedure are exacerbated by an herbal abortion.”
The last sentence contains an important point that people who distribute recipes for tea and herbal oils overlook: this is a medical procedure. This is where you might be getting into it without even knowing the proper dosage, the side effects to watch out for, the success rate, or the risks you’re taking. Would you agree to this for something else?
Moreover, the information available for self-use is often incomplete and contradictory. For example, one website describes the stalk stalk as a “strong ally of women” but then says it didn’t work for the author. Interviewed in a DNAinfo article on herbal abortions suggested that some herbalists see this uncertainty as something of a plus, as it leaves the final outcome “in the hands of God.”
A Reddit user discussing the abortive excerpts from his grandmother’s notebook probably put it best: “If you don’t agree to die instead of staying pregnant, don’t look at pharmaceutical abortions, even if you have to import them illegally.” . so it will be safer.”