TikTok, a short-format video hosting service, was initially launched as a platform for sharing byte-sized content like makeup tutorials and cooking recipes. After the rollback of Roe v. Wade, there are reports of potentially dangerous abortion-related information running on the platform. A new wave of discussion is currently going on on TikTok that focuses on herbs that can cause abortions.
Medical professionals are concerned about this increasing trend of TikTok creators promoting these herbal abortifacients. These herbs can also have catastrophic effects on a woman’s health. Mary Jane Minkin, MD, a gynaecologist and clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the Yale University School of Medicine, said, ‘I’m horrified. They’re going to kill people’.
There is an abundance of misinformation about herbal abortifacients on TikTok. One of the hashtags, # pennyroyaltea, has received approximately 1.1 million views and advocates the use of an abortifatient. Another hashtag for mugwort has over 157 million views. If used in large doses, it can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, profuse drooling, heart rhythms, muscle weakness, seizures, coma, and even death.
Searches for herbal abortifacients such as pennyroyal and mugwort have shot up since the Roe v. Wade decision was leaked. Searches for “pennyroyal,” “blue cohosh”, and “mugwort” have increased by 40%, according to Google Trends data. They have remained available in the underground market through herbalists and midwives, leading to those who seek such options for abortion.
There are several blogs and Reddit threads that include step-by-step information on how to self-perform an abortion. In the United States, the herbal supplement market is unregulated. People can buy anything that is sold to them as herbal, and it may be. A study by integrative medicine and women’s health specialist Fredi Kronenberg mentions that three out of 11 products that were marketed as black cohosh had no black coho in them. Black cohosh is used to provide relief from menopausal effects.
Due to the strict content guidelines of TikTok, some people are using the platform to spread misinformation about alternatives to abortion under the disguise of keywords. TikTok has not responded yet, but it is not the first time the platform has been criticized for promoting misinformation regarding health. Last year, TikTok came under fire for promoting ivermectin medicine as a cure for the COVID disease.
Meanwhile, experts believe TikTok should take control over the propagation of such potentially dangerous material on its site. Currently, in the United States, websites such as Plan C and Safe2Choose may connect with those seeking abortions at home and supply options such as abortion pills, which are a much safer and more dependable alternative. Aid Access, which sends pharmaceuticals everywhere in the United States and throughout the world, accepts orders from people of any age.
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