By EKalman January 12, 2023 - 5:47am

If you find yourself pregnant unintentionally, realize that you are not alone and have abortion options. You can end your pregnancy safely and legally if you want to.

This is true even if the United States Supreme Court voted in June 2022 to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established the legal right to abortion.

However, in the aftermath of Roe v. Wade, many social media users concerned about the increasing restrictions on legal abortion have offered "help" on how to self-manage your own.

While some advice is supported by facts — for example, many people claim that self-managing an abortion with approved medication is safe, successful, and legal across the country — many touted "abortion home remedies" are unfounded.

It is difficult to estimate the global number of abortions. However, estimates range from 56 million to 73 million abortions per year.

Around 25 million of these are considered unsafe abortions. Every year, unsafe abortions may result in 70,000 fatalities and 5 million serious problems.

Some of these abortions are performed by traditional medicine practitioners or other members of the community who undertake surgical procedures outside of a clinical environment.

Others are SMAs, which may include the use of ethnobotanical and folk medicines, such as herbs and teas, or the attempt at self-injury.

This isn't anything new: Traditional medicine and other ways have long been used to induce abortions. However, many of these methods are understudied, and those that have been studied are frequently found to be inefficient, harmful, or both.

One study discovered that those with non-cisgender uteruses, such as transgender males, genderqueer people, and other gender-expansive people, had a high interest in SMA.

19% of those polled indicated they attempted an SMA without assistance. Herbs were used, physical harm was caused, vitamin C was used, and narcotics or alcohol were used.

In a 2018 survey conducted in the United States, 55% of those who claimed previous efforts to self-abort utilized herbs or vitamins, while 36% used alcohol and other non-pharmaceutical substances.

A survey conducted in 2021 discovered that homeless adolescents in the United States frequently resort to SMA through dangerous tactics such as physical assault, substance abuse, or purposeful malnutrition.

Other abortion procedures were deemed too pricey or otherwise inaccessible by the youth participants.

According to one 2019 study, it was not uncommon for people to use traditional medicines like herbs alone or alongside pharmaceutical abortion medication, especially in abortion-hostile locations, among women across Mexico who had abortions.

Here are some of the most serious hazards connected with traditional abortion "home treatments."

1. Incomplete abortion
An incomplete abortion is one that did not totally succeed. This indicates that the pregnancy's products will likely stay in your body, necessitating medical treatment to complete the abortion.

An untreated incomplete abortion can result in severe bleeding and potentially fatal infections.

2. Infection
Because all surgeries carry the danger of infection, medical facilities strive hard to maintain their environments as sterile as possible.

Some home abortion cures involve inserting a tool through your cervix to reach your uterus. Even if you believe you have properly sterilized the equipment, this is exceedingly risky.

A vaginal, cervix or uterine infection can result in irreversible harm, including infertility. An infection in this location can also travel to your circulation, resulting in potentially fatal blood poisoning.

3. Hemorrhage
Hemorrhage is any type of significant blood loss. If you or someone with no medical expertise attempts to conduct a surgical abortion on you, you risk accidentally severing a major blood vessel, resulting in internal hemorrhage.

Remember that internal bleeding may not be apparent until it is too late.

4. Scarring
A surgical abortion performed by someone with no medical knowledge might result in scars in addition to hemorrhaging.

Scarring can impact both your exterior and internal genitalia, leading to infertility and other health issues.

5. Toxicity
Herbal medicines may appear to be safe because they are "natural." However, even simple plants can have potent effects and swiftly turn toxic.

Not to mention that most herbal abortion treatments necessitate far exceeding the suggested dosage.

If you consume more than the amount known to be healthy for humans, your liver will have to work extra hard to filter out more toxins and other substances from the herbs. This may result in liver damage or failure.