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Cytotec and medical self-abortion

I just came across this August 2012 article in The New York Times. It describes how women in Mexico and the U.S. purchase Cytotec, and anti-ulcer drug, to self-abort. (Cytotec is misoprostol, which can effectively induce abortions in early pregnancy.) There are few barriers to obtaining the drug in Mexican pharmacies. For Mexican women, this may be their only option to abort-- relatively safely-- given that abortion is largely illegal outside of Mexico City. For women who live in Texas, Cytotec from a Mexican pharmacy may be an attractive option given increased regulations on abortions in Texas and the reduction of state funding for family planning clinics.

One problem is that pharmacists are reluctant to provide instructions on how to use Cytotec to effectively self-abort.

Links:

 The New York Times article on Cytotec and Mexican pharmacies: Looking to Mexico for an Alternative to Abortion Clinics


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