Magic Misoprostol

Available open access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.

How can a stomach ulcer drug transform abortion access? This book tells the story of misoprostol, a medication that was ‘discovered’ as a cheap and safe method for abortion in Latin America.

This book develops three conceptual lenses: reproductive justice, mobility politics and geographies of knowledge, to explore the emergence and success of misoprostol for abortions. Chapters cover the experimentation process, activist groups, the challenges of moving the pill in clandestine contexts and how the pill interacts with the law. The book demonstrates how misoprostol, and the people who have mobilized it, have transformed abortion safety, knowledge and practices with global effects.