Women who've tried 'herbal abortions' urge others not to follow their lead
Women who've tried 'herbal abortions' urge others not to follow their lead as information on herbs and plants purported to help induce abortions has circulated widely on social media.
When Julie James learned she was pregnant in 1989, she concocted a mixture of herbs in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy.
Abortion was legal and accessible, but James was an herbalist — she’d studied at the California School of Herbal Studies and her job was to use plants as alternative health treatments for patients. So her curiosity prompted her to try herbs instead. But the method made her sick and didn’t end the pregnancy, she said, so she ultimately got a medical abortion.
James, who still practices in Long Beach, California, said that instead of recommending herbs to end a pregnancy, she now tries "to talk people out of it.”
Her warning comes as many online have been suggesting herbal remedies as a way to end unwanted pregnancies after the Supreme Court in May overturned Roe v. Wade.
Information on herbs and plants that are purported to help induce abortions — such as pennyroyal, mugwort and high doses of Vitamin C — has circulated widely on a variety of social media platforms, including TikTok, spurred by new fears of restricted abortion access.
Rating: 5