Dangerous Advice

I am going to have one helluva eyestrain headache by the time I’m done but I can’t stay quiet.

In the last week, since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the most egregious decision I can remember, I’ve seen no fewer than five Facebook pages post about abortifacient herbs and giving “instructions for use.” Nowhere could I find the posters’ qualifications. Indeed, they probably have none because…

Those of us who actually went to an accredited school to become herbalists and those who went even further to become certified/clinical herbalists were never taught about those herbs. For damned good reason. Any of those herbs (and I won’t name them so as to not perpetuate the lie) in dosages that are fatal to the fetus are also fatal to the mother in probably 80-90% of cases. Even if the mother doesn’t die immediately, it’s possible she ends up with a partial abortion, causing a septic uterus, which is also usually fatal.

“But my ancestor,” you say. Yes. Herbal (and mechanical) abortion was the only option available for centuries. Your ancestor may have lived but how many others died? I can name at least one: my paternal grandmother. Quoting directly from her death certificate, she died of, “sepsis following self-induced abortion,” just a year after my father was born. I don’t know if she used the proverbial coat hanger or took an herbal concoction but she died.

I am begging you, please do not follow any of the dangerous advice floating around the internet. I want you to live. Medical science has made abortion safe without resorting to potentially deadly action. If you find yourself in trouble, please contact the folks at AbortionFunds.org. They’ve been preparing for that horrid decision for years and can help, even if you’re in a state where things are now illegal.

A friend shared this image on Facebook. Take it to heart.