rioters bloc
11th November 2005, 11:07
this is a kinda serious [though vague] article i wrote, and on an issue that i think is necessary to be familiar with. so please, no jokes about coathangers and whatnot. cheers :)
i don't know much about abortions. that doesn't suprise me. womyn have little reproductive choice - we don't know what 'choices' exist. we don't have the right to an abortion, unless we can prove to the almighty state that our pregnancy will cause permanant psychological or phycial damage.
womyn have always known of many birth control and abortion methods - it's only recently that we;ve begun to fill our bodies with contraceptive pharmaceuticals and begged the state for a right to invasive clinical abortion procedures.
this isn't a guide so much as a call out to look beyond the beyond the medical abortion procedures which seem to be the only ones offered to us these days [when they're offered at all] and also to share any knowledge any womyn [or even men] have. i'm suggesting that current access to abortion is insufficient, and DIY is often the only option for some womyn. i'm saying that if we are serious about womyn's reproductive rights and support womyns' control of womyn's bodies, we've got to provide alternatives and information - not enforce gaps of knowledge, nor reinforce taboo and secrecy.
last year, australian federal health minister tony abbott told the media that over 100 000 australian womyn have abortions every year. he's since retracted that statement [since it was a blatant lie] but he's still pushing a very anti-choice agenda. he fails to also say that australian womyn have no right to an abortion under law. most womyn who seek abortions are whiter, upper-middle class, tertiary educated womyn in their late 20s. few, if any, abortion clinics exist in rural or regional areas.
womyn's movements have long questioned the way the medical elite have controlled and defined womyn's health. womyn have used methods of birth control and termination for thousands of years. indigenous medical/healing practices have been [and continue to be] destroyed as a result of colonialism and imperialism. no womyn in my circle of friends knows about alternative methods, cultural or historical techniques, or abortifacient herbs beyond the old nirvana song about pennyroyal [nb: if you decide to use pennyroyal tea, be sure to drink it hot while you are warm. never ingest pennyroyal oil - it is lethal and you will die. :)]
black and blue cohash are two herbs which strengthen the uterus and can induce contractions. other helpful herbs include angelica, parsley leaf/root, tansey, rue, and cotton root bark. some of these herbs and stimulants are also used in birth processes, some to help relax or ripen the cervix. most herbs are brewed and used in tea. strain the tea before drinking - do not eat the leaves as they may be poisonous. :)
vitamin c is also regarded as useful for a 'natural' abortion, and as the least toxic and effective option. medical sources believe it interferes with progesterone, a hormone that controls menstrual and reproductive cycles.
mesntrual extraction is an abortion technique developed by the Los Angeles Self Help Clinic in 1971, prior to the legalisation of surgical abortion. the procedure is like suctional abortion, but with minimal suction and no cervical dilation. menstrual extraction is done within the first 6 weeks of pregnancy. this technique involves equipment which can be bought in a hardware store.
more recently, pharmaceutical developments such as the abortion pill also provide womyn with a method of pregnancy termination that is not clinical. the drug, effective up to 9 weeks pregnancy, provokes bleeding and prompts miscarriage.
DIY or 'natural' termination does not mean that it is safe. risks exist, and vary depending on the stage of pregnancy. all my sources remark that if alternative methods don't work, it is important to still follow through with the abortion even if it means surgical abortion.
there are many options available, and the choice is ours. it is important we make decisions that we are comfortable with. do your research and see a nutritionist for advice on herbs and intake. learn as much as you can about the plants you want to use, and get the advice of someone who has already used them before.
surgical abortion is an invasive pharmaceutical version of a practice that is thousands of years old. information on alternative abortion methods have been suppressed by medical establishments, religious institutions, and the state. much knowledge has been lost, and the few sources that exist are either incomplete or inconsistent. if we are truly pro-choice, we have to create abd share info that gives womyn real choice. we must challenge notions and practice of womyns' health and organise to take control of our bodies.
edit: for those not familiar with australia's stance on abortion, different states have different laws - most are anti choice. nsw [my state] law states: "Whosoever, being a woman with child, unlawfully administers to herself any drug or noxious thing, or unlawfully uses any instrument ot other means, with intent in any such case to procure her miscarriage, shall be liable to imprisonment for ten years." The same applies to accessories. abortion remains a crime according to the law.
grrrr i hate the state >:(
i don't know much about abortions. that doesn't suprise me. womyn have little reproductive choice - we don't know what 'choices' exist. we don't have the right to an abortion, unless we can prove to the almighty state that our pregnancy will cause permanant psychological or phycial damage.
womyn have always known of many birth control and abortion methods - it's only recently that we;ve begun to fill our bodies with contraceptive pharmaceuticals and begged the state for a right to invasive clinical abortion procedures.
this isn't a guide so much as a call out to look beyond the beyond the medical abortion procedures which seem to be the only ones offered to us these days [when they're offered at all] and also to share any knowledge any womyn [or even men] have. i'm suggesting that current access to abortion is insufficient, and DIY is often the only option for some womyn. i'm saying that if we are serious about womyn's reproductive rights and support womyns' control of womyn's bodies, we've got to provide alternatives and information - not enforce gaps of knowledge, nor reinforce taboo and secrecy.
last year, australian federal health minister tony abbott told the media that over 100 000 australian womyn have abortions every year. he's since retracted that statement [since it was a blatant lie] but he's still pushing a very anti-choice agenda. he fails to also say that australian womyn have no right to an abortion under law. most womyn who seek abortions are whiter, upper-middle class, tertiary educated womyn in their late 20s. few, if any, abortion clinics exist in rural or regional areas.
womyn's movements have long questioned the way the medical elite have controlled and defined womyn's health. womyn have used methods of birth control and termination for thousands of years. indigenous medical/healing practices have been [and continue to be] destroyed as a result of colonialism and imperialism. no womyn in my circle of friends knows about alternative methods, cultural or historical techniques, or abortifacient herbs beyond the old nirvana song about pennyroyal [nb: if you decide to use pennyroyal tea, be sure to drink it hot while you are warm. never ingest pennyroyal oil - it is lethal and you will die. :)]
black and blue cohash are two herbs which strengthen the uterus and can induce contractions. other helpful herbs include angelica, parsley leaf/root, tansey, rue, and cotton root bark. some of these herbs and stimulants are also used in birth processes, some to help relax or ripen the cervix. most herbs are brewed and used in tea. strain the tea before drinking - do not eat the leaves as they may be poisonous. :)
vitamin c is also regarded as useful for a 'natural' abortion, and as the least toxic and effective option. medical sources believe it interferes with progesterone, a hormone that controls menstrual and reproductive cycles.
mesntrual extraction is an abortion technique developed by the Los Angeles Self Help Clinic in 1971, prior to the legalisation of surgical abortion. the procedure is like suctional abortion, but with minimal suction and no cervical dilation. menstrual extraction is done within the first 6 weeks of pregnancy. this technique involves equipment which can be bought in a hardware store.
more recently, pharmaceutical developments such as the abortion pill also provide womyn with a method of pregnancy termination that is not clinical. the drug, effective up to 9 weeks pregnancy, provokes bleeding and prompts miscarriage.
DIY or 'natural' termination does not mean that it is safe. risks exist, and vary depending on the stage of pregnancy. all my sources remark that if alternative methods don't work, it is important to still follow through with the abortion even if it means surgical abortion.
there are many options available, and the choice is ours. it is important we make decisions that we are comfortable with. do your research and see a nutritionist for advice on herbs and intake. learn as much as you can about the plants you want to use, and get the advice of someone who has already used them before.
surgical abortion is an invasive pharmaceutical version of a practice that is thousands of years old. information on alternative abortion methods have been suppressed by medical establishments, religious institutions, and the state. much knowledge has been lost, and the few sources that exist are either incomplete or inconsistent. if we are truly pro-choice, we have to create abd share info that gives womyn real choice. we must challenge notions and practice of womyns' health and organise to take control of our bodies.
edit: for those not familiar with australia's stance on abortion, different states have different laws - most are anti choice. nsw [my state] law states: "Whosoever, being a woman with child, unlawfully administers to herself any drug or noxious thing, or unlawfully uses any instrument ot other means, with intent in any such case to procure her miscarriage, shall be liable to imprisonment for ten years." The same applies to accessories. abortion remains a crime according to the law.
grrrr i hate the state >:(