Home ‘remedies’ don’t induce abortion as posts falsely claim
CLAIM: Consuming pineapple juice, sesame seeds, parsley water with lemon or massive quantities of aspirin are viable strategies to finish a being pregnant.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. These house “cures” don’t induce abortion, and taking massive doses of aspirin can hurt the gastrointestinal tract, in response to medical doctors.
THE FACTS: Within the month for the reason that U.S. Supreme Court stripped away constitutional protections for abortion, liberating states to ban the procedure, social media customers have unfold misinformation about strategies to finish a being pregnant at house.
Nevertheless, medical doctors say that whereas folks can self-manage their abortions at house utilizing abortion pills akin to misoprostol, they shouldn’t observe house cures they discover on social media to finish a being pregnant as they don’t seem to be efficient and may typically be harmful.
Among the many purported “house cures” promoted in a broadly shared video on Fb have been pineapple juice, sesame seeds, parsley water and aspirin tablets.
The video claimed individuals who need to finish their being pregnant can drink pineapple juice as a result of it accommodates an ingredient referred to as bromelain that may “soften the cervix” and “will ultimately result in a miscarriage.” The video additionally touted three different false recommendations: sesame seeds soaked in honey, parsley water with lemon and 4 to 10 aspirin tablets with water as alleged strategies to induce an abortion or begin the menstrual cycle.
There is no such thing as a reality to any of those claims, mentioned Dr. Eve Feinberg, an affiliate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern College. Feinberg added that taking massive quantities of aspirin might trigger some hurt to the gastrointestinal tract.
“There’s no house treatment to induce an abortion or to trigger an abortion to occur,” mentioned Dr. Ruth Lathi, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford College College of Drugs.
Different medical doctors agreed, urging folks looking for abortions to seek the advice of dependable sources quite than unproven cures discovered on-line.
“The unfold of medical misinformation, myths, and fallacies is dangerous for sufferers,” Dr. Christopher Zahn, chief of medical follow and interim chief of well being fairness and high quality for the American School of Obstetricians and Gynecologists mentioned in an emailed assertion. “Simply because data is on-line or on social media doesn’t imply that it’s true, or based mostly on any dependable medical proof.”
The AP has beforehand reported on false claims that sure herbs are viable alternate options to abortion. Specialists mentioned there are no herbal remedies that are safe and effective for inducing an abortion or stopping being pregnant.
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That is a part of AP’s effort to handle broadly shared misinformation, together with work with exterior corporations and organizations so as to add factual context to deceptive content material that’s circulating on-line. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.
