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@sunflower_avenue@sunbeam.cityI really want to learn about herbal abortions.
I dont think ill ever be in a position to need it (i dont do things that could get me pregnant and i live in a place with fairly secure abortion rights), but theres something very comforting about having that knowledge.
Obvs, herbal abortions are going to be less reliable than standard medical or surgical methods. But, it would also be almost impossible to stop access to
@sunflower_avenue I totally agree with you about it being reassuring to have knowledge about a thing even if it's not necessarily going to be needed. This is anecdotal, but my great grandmother tried to abort a pregnancy using pennyroyal (it didn't work and the baby was born healthy). I think the mechanism by which it is supposed to 'work' is like @otyugh@pouet.chapril.org said, ie. it's toxic af and the pregnant person crosses their fingers that they'll survive it. I heard from a friend who has kids that she drank raspberry leaf tea in order to induce labour (she was due to go into labour naturally but was a few days 'late' and was recommended drinking the tea). I think if a pregnant person drank raspberry leaf tea at any other stage in the pregnancy it could cause abortion, though again this is kind of anecdotal.
@compost_the_rich @sunflower_avenue @otyugh@pouet.chapril.org 0_0 oh my... Was just reading about penny royal the other day. That stuff is terribly poisonous! Causes liver damage too.
@compost_the_rich @sunflower_avenue @otyugh
Given that my midwives prescribed huge quantities of raspberry leaf tea as a supplement for healthy pregnancy, I unfortunately don't think that it's likely to be at all effective at inducing abortion. It might have some very weak effects in that it is a plant and all plants contain toxins. One of the main hypotheses for why morning sickness occurs is as an effort to minimize exposure to plant toxins, and I think there is some weak evidence that pregnant people who don't experience morning sickness are slightly more likely to miscarry.)
More generally, I don't think that things being labor inducers is necessarily a predictors of being abortion inducers. (Other things that help to induce labor include physical exercise and coitus.)
@sunflower_avenue There are a lot of plants that can cause abortions but it's safer to be an herbalist before looking into it because a lot of them are toxic. For example; a large amount of rosemary is considered an abortificant. But eating large amounts of Rosemary can cause vitamin poisoning, kidney damage, and seizures.