"Herbal abortions" are every bit as safe as you think

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.

But people who have used these herbs themselves are also coming forward, sharing their stories online to persuade people not to consider the method. …

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.”