Misoprostol is a pharmaceutical product that was developed as a stomach ulcer medication in the 1970s. However, because of its stark warning – not to be used by pregnant women! – women in Brazil who were seeking ways to end their pregnancies began experimenting with it. Over time they developed an effective regimen and the pill, as well as knowledge of how to take it, spread across the region. Drawing on interviews with activists and healthcare providers across Latin America, this talk explores the biography of misoprostol from its initial ‘discovery’ as an abortifacient to its current standing as a widely used and accepted technology of abortion. This is a tale of scientific understanding that forces us to rethink our conceptions of ‘science’ and who takes part in (re)making knowledges of pharmaceuticals. These shifts in understanding misoprostol as well as the activism around it has resulted in the transformation of abortion access and the possibilities of reproductive justice.

This is an in-person event, which takes place in Teaching Room 13 (01M.473) - Doorway 3, Medical School, Teviot.

This event may be recorded. The recording will be used for internal University of Edinburgh teaching purposes only.

The event is organised and chaired by Chiara Chiavaroli, Teaching Fellow, Social Anthropology, and Lucy Lowe, Senior Lecturer in Medical Anthropology, University of Edinburgh.

Toxicity or liberation?