Dr. Doe: What do umbrellas, crochet hooks, carrot seed soup and heavy weights have in common? They've all been used to end pregnancies.

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When it comes to being pregnant there are lots of people who get super excited. They post adorable baby announcements, and start picking out names. It's a big deal! There are even people who undergo intense fertility treatments and spend thousands of dollars to get pregnant because they want biological children. I think we can all agree that not everyone is the same, and in regards to pregnancy there are people who feel very differently than the aforementioned ambition and excitement.

Like, instead, pregnancy evokes feelings of: regret, anxiety, disappointment, anger, apathy, and fear. While some of these feelings pass for some people, some of them don't. They don't want to be pregnant. They won't be pregnant.

Ending pregnancies has been documented well before Common Era, and in places all over the world. Where possible, people often seek medical guidance, but for many this is not legal, accessible and/or necessary. So, for millennia, people have been inducing their own abortions in three major forms:

1. Using Sharp Objects
2. Physically exerting themselves
3. Abortifacients - substances like herbs and drugs that go into the body.

With Sharp Objects, the thing is: go in through the vagina, into the "cervical os", and mix about the contents, so that what's inside isn't attached to the uterus anymore. It comes out like a super intense menstrual period. Ideally, a medical practitioner would perform this kind of abortion, and use a sterilized curette. They also use a dilator to open the os so that the cervix isn't punctured as well. However, when there isn't help, many other objects have become make-shift curettes: clothes hangers, knitting needles, crochet hooks, hat pins, bobby pins, bicycle spokes, rubber tubes, umbrella spokes, and the "abortion stick"  - a carved piece of wood for the very purpose of inducing an abortion. You've probably guessed this is very hard to do safely on one's own body; in addition to hurting really badly, it can lead to infection, infertility, and death. 

Physical exertion is another way to induce abortions. This method involves disrupting the uterine lining externally. Such as: belly flopping; throwing oneself down the stairs; punching, kicking or other big blows to the abdomen; lifting heavy weights; climbing, and paddling. One technique, called the Lacedaemonian Leap, was prescribed by early Greek physicians to expel the contents of the uterus. This was done by jumping up and hitting the buttocks with the heels. Other efforts: girding the abdomen, lying on a heated coconut, soaking in hot water, and deep sea diving. The activities we correlate with spontaneous abortions, or miscarriages have probably been used to induce abortions. Rigorous activities like riding roller coasters are considered risk factors for placental abruption because the jostling separates the placenta from the uterus.

Wouldn't it be so much nicer to take a pill, and let the body do its thing? People have used and still use substances found in nature or made in laboratories to end their pregnancies - abortifacients. Here's a big list of them, many of which you probably won't recognize, because different parts of the world/different options.

My take away from all of it is that: wanting not to be pregnant is not limited to any particular place, nationality, religious group, socioeconomic status, or lifestyle. Statically 1 in every 5 pregnancies ends in abortion - and that's across cultures. Presently, the World Health Organization approves the use of abortion pills up to the 9th week, or 63rd day of pregnancy. Pills that are 90 - 99% effective, that don't involve stabbing your cervix, getting punched in the gut, or imbibing potentially hazardous potions. Pills that don't involve dying to end pregnancy.

If you live somewhere where abortions are legal and accessible, then I highly recommend seeking in-person medical care. Someone to answer your questions, guide you through the process and stand by if there are complications. If you don't live where abortions are legal and accessible, a self-induced abortion with these pills is a safer option. It can be done with the support and guidance of an online medical and service community, quickly and inexpensively. Whether in a clinic or at home, have a friend with you. You may be able to self-induce, but you don't have to self-support.

Stay Safe. Stay Curious.

For additional information about abortions, check out these videos. We've also linked to them in the description.