RHM article Cytotec in Brazil: ‘At least it doesn’t kill’ (1993) by Margareth Arilha and Regina Maria Barbosa has been cited in two articles in The Conversation: Is the future of abortion online?, and a French article, Avorter « en ligne » pour contourner les législations restrictives (Abortion “online” to circumvent restrictive legislation). 

The RHM paper is used to show that long before the scientific interest in drugs such as Misoprostol (brandname Cytotec) and Mifepristone, it was women themselves who first discovered their potential for medical abortion.

“In Brazil, where abortion is legal only in cases of rape and to save the woman’s life, misoprostol was registered for the treatment of ulcers. The label warned women not to use the pills in case of pregnancy. Understanding the implications, women started to take misoprostol to induce abortions and its use quickly spread”