DIY Abortion: A Shocking Practice That Can Be Fatal For Women, Too

Abortion, the practice of ending an unwanted pregnancy, has been around for a very long time — probably since the first nomads started settling down and working the land. Though the abortion debate attracts passionate campaigners on both sides and many would like abortion to be illegal, women in most developed countries now have access to safe abortions.

Why is it, then, that some women turn to DIY abortions — often using herbal concoctions that have never been proven to be safe? Here, we'll take a brief look at the world of "natural abortions" and explore why no woman should take that route.

A Brief History Of Abortion

Abortion was known to all ancient civilizations: the Babylonians, Assyrians, various Indian civilizations, Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks and Romans all had various rudimentary abortion methods at their disposal. In most of these civilizations, abortion was not illegal and in many cases socially acceptable. 

Ancient abortions were, of course, nowhere near as safe as the surgical and medical abortions modern western women are familiar with. 

As time went on, abortion become a topic of political conversation. Aristotle thought that early abortions were acceptable if the birth rate was too high, but that they should not be done after the unborn child gained a human soul. He had some weird ideas about when that happened and what the embryo's status was before that — boys gained a soul 40 days after conception while girls did so after 90 days, and an embryo possessed an animal or vegetable soul before becoming human.

Abdominal massage, simple violence, and wearing tight girdles were still popular methods across the globe, from Australia to England, and from Japan to Cambodia between the fifth and 18th centuries. But botanists and midwives also began recording herbal concoctions that would lead to the termination of pregnancy. Some of these records date back to the 11th century. 

Herbs used to induce miscarriage included pennyroyal, Italian catnip, soapwort, juniper, and even opium. Inserting water injections into the uterus was another, cheap method. The curette, the instrument still used in surgical abortions today, was invented in France in 1723 and versions of the modern dilation and curettage (D&C) have been practiced since the 19th century. 

Abortion Today

The United Nation's World Abortion Policies 2011 report shows that abortion is currently a legal option in most of the world, though the grounds on which a woman is allowed to terminate a pregnancy vary. Ninety-seven percent of the world's countries allow women to have abortions if not doing so would endanger their life. Abortions to protect the pregnant woman's physical health or mental health are also allowed in most countries, at 67 percent and 63 percent respectively. 

Forty-seven percent of all countries accept abortion as a legal option in cases of incest and rape, while 34 percent has legalized pregnancy terminations on grounds of social or economic problems. A full 29 percent of countries also permits abortions for no reason other than the mother requesting it — this includes north American countries and most of Europe. 

In some countries where abortion is permitted, pregnant women must pay for the procedure, while it can be covered by private or social medical insurance in others.

This clearly dangerous option may seem like the only choice for women in countries where abortion is not legal and who are desperate to end an unwanted pregnancy, though these countries also inevitably operate illegal abortion clinics staffed by skilled or unskilled providers. But don't think it's just women who have no other choice who find themselves contemplating a DIY abortion.

If you search Google for information about "herbal abortion", "natural abortion" or "DIY abortion", you will come across blogs and forum posts written by American and to a lesser degree European women who would in most cases have access to legal abortions provided in the safest available way. Herbal abortions are a choice, then. Sometimes that choice is clearly made for financial reasons. In other cases, it is a choice made by women who favor alternative medicine over modern medicine and who are weary of "outside intervention". 

Modern Western Women Who Turn To DIY Abortion: How And Why

One blog says that herbs have always been used to control fertility, but that this knowledge has now largely been lost because women who advised others about it were condemned as witches in the past. Then, the shocking bit: "We are left to piece together the clues they left behind and are working to regain the knowledge of how to harvest and prepare, how much to take and what combinations are most effective."

The woman who wrote those sentences, and who gives information on how to perform herbal abortions, says that she is a herbology student and is not actually dishing out medical advice. She also strongly warns women against ingesting essential oils — at least one woman died trying to perform a DIY abortion that way in 1978, so that warning is definitely warranted.

The herbology student provides much-wanted information that many women are looking to find online. Health forums across the web have topics started by women who want to know how they can end a pregnancy by themselves — we had one such question here on SteadyHealth too, only a few weeks ago. Natural birth and parenting forums seem to be particularly full of these kinds of questions. 

SteadyHealth is here to help people live a healthy life and to make responsible choices, not to guide them into using dangerous, unproven and potentially life-threatening methods that should remain in the middle ages. Still, because you are curious, here is a brief look at the types of methods women use to attempt DIY abortions:

• Pennyroyal with brewer's yeast or blue cohosh — dates back to American colonial times
• Dong quai (Chinese Angelica) — stimulates uterine contractions
• Very large doses of vitamin C — inhibits progesterone
• Blue cohosh
• Evening primrose
• Tansy — very toxic

Another herbalist blogger who describes how to induce a miscarriage with various herbs warns: "As an herbalist and active member of many alternative circles, I have seen a tragic number of women find themselves injured, sickened, or deeply traumatized by herbal abortions. Herbal abortions (and all other forms of home abortion) are not a safe or effective alternative to clinical methods."

The woman I initially quoted says that herbal abortions appear to be effective in around 45 percent of attempted cases, and she goes on to warn that this does not mean the herbs were not effective — they can still lead to birth defects, and they can simultaneously put the woman's liver and kidneys under immense stress. She, and other herbalists, also stress the idea that herbal miscarriages are not likely to be successful after very early pregnancy.

This should say enough, really. DIY abortions can be successful in the best case. If they don't work out as planned, they can lead to health problems and the need to have a surgical or medical abortion after all. In the worst case, the pregnancy will be terminated... but only because the woman also ends up dead. 

Pregnancy crisis centers and women's organizations are there to help women who cannot afford an abortion, and there are also organizations that help women in countries where maternal-choice abortions are not legal travel abroad. DIY abortions are not a safe choice under any circumstances, so women who are desperate to end their pregnancy should always keep in mind that they do have other options.