This experimental documentary performed with live animation and magic lanterns, within the tradition of scientific lantern lecture, will illuminate the historical context and evolution of medication abortion.  For millennia, people worldwide have turned to botanical and traditional medicines for self-managed abortion care.  The earliest written record of an abortifacient dates back to an Egyptian medical Papyrus from 1550 B.C.E., prescribing a mixture of dates, honey, fruit of acacia and colocynth.  Although some of these treatments came with severe health risks or were ineffective, without a safer alternative, they allowed people to independently manage unwanted pregnancies.

As abortion access remains restricted in communities worldwide, especially in areas facing the enduring consequences of colonialism & imperialism, individuals often embrace traditional botanical & herbal methods to maintain reproductive independence.  Some scientists advocate for additional research into these traditional medicines to determine safest methods and efficacy, envisioning greater safer reproductive freedom through the use of regional plants.  At the same time, an absence of standardized care persists in many communities, and many of the most widely used botanicals pose severe risks of toxicity.  In the recent waves of criminalization in the USA, there has been a notable surge in interest in self-managed abortion methods.  Thousands have turned to platforms like TikTok for information on antiquated herbal abortifacients, despite warnings from herbalists about their dangers and ineffectiveness.

However, the long tradition of abortifacients entered a new era with the arrival of abortion pills in the 1980s.  While these pills are available over the counter in some countries, in places like the USA, they are highly restricted, sometimes criminalized, and education about them is actively suppressed.  A significant portion of society does not even know these pills exist, let alone how to access them.  Fortunately, a network of organizations & activists have continued the tradition of advocating access, regardless of legality.  

This documentary will include an overview of these histories of abortifacients, which include surprising stories on the ubiquity and moral acceptance of abortion in many regions and times.  A featured chapter will be the Victorian-era legislation contemporary to the magic lantern, the Comstock Act, which affects abortion access in the USA today.  This history will be traced to modern pills and, in keeping with the legacy of abortifacient recipes, provide resources on legal and illegal channels to access them in the USA, as well as guidance on obtaining these pills affordably or at no cost through abortion funds.