“Misoprostol has a feminist history.” – Rasha, co-founder of MARA-Med, Movement for Abortion Rights and Access in the Mediterranean.
Developed in the 1970s to treat gastric ulcers, Misoprostol was marketed under the name Cytotec. In the 1980s, women in Brazil discovered that it caused contractions in the uterus. This paved the way for its use in inducing abortion and circumventing legislative restrictions. This use of misoprostal soon spread among feminist movements in Latin America and then globally, opening the way to medical abortion procedures across the world.
Defined by the WHO as an essential, life-saving medicine, Misoprostol induces the expulsion of the embryo, allowing the abortion to be safely completed. This process is extensively explained in the “Abortion care” guidelines, which explain its use in combination with Mifepristone (RU-486), on its own (when RU-486 is not available), or with Letrozole. Evidence from clinical studies shows that Misoprostol is most effective taken in combination with as opposed to on its own.
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