Vitamin C Abortion
What to Know if You Are Considering a Vitamin C Abortion
A vitamin C abortion is a procedure recommended for a do-it-yourself abortion through the use of high quantities of vitamin C. There are a number of websites on the Internet with varying descriptions of how to cause a vitamin C abortion to end an unwanted pregnancy, often referring to it as simply causing a miscarriage.
Information About Vitamin C Abortion
[toc]Vitamin C is a healthy vitamin pill many people take, and it’s even recommended for pregnant women. Everyone knows that vitamin C is in oranges and other citrus fruits, which we eat daily. So it must be safe, right?Unfortunately, there is no consistency in the information about a vitamin C abortion regarding how much vitamin C to take or for how long. One of the Internet websites recommends doses of 500 mg per hour and says that some women place a vitamin C tablet in their vagina to continue the dose overnight. Information on other websites is quite different.
The Number of Women Looking for Vitamin C and DIY Abortions Is Increasing
Back in 2017, the Guttmacher Institute provided information on the increase of women preferring options to end their own pregnancies at home rather than having a medical abortion procedure. This was consistent with the availability of misoprostol, the abortion pill, online.
However, there were other reasons why women were seeking options like vitamin C rather than medication abortions. Often, it was people who sought herbal and alternative methods to their healthcare. Other times it was the cost and fear of a medical abortion or the unavailability of access to an abortion clinic. Then there are the young teenagers who want to keep their pregnancies a secret from their parents. All of these reasons drive women to seek out herbal and vitamin C abortion information.
The Effect of COVID-19 on Abortion Rates
Of course, for the past year, we also have had the effect of COVID-19 on women seeking abortions. Lockdowns created another reason for home abortions. This situation affected countries across the world and states with the most stringent lockdown procedures for months at a time.
Ten years before this, a study in 2011 published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology revealed that 1.4 percent of the women surveyed attempted to end a pregnancy with the vitamin C abortion procedure. It is too early for studies to be done on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on home abortions during this time period.
The Risks Involved With a Vitamin C Abortion
Dangers in Keeping Your Abortion a Secret
Even the websites that provide information on vitamin C abortions include warnings that DIY abortions do not mean safe abortions. Like anything else, too much of a good thing can be dangerous. First of all, having an abortion at home without others knowing about it can be very dangerous. If no one knows and something goes wrong, who will be available to help?
Complications from Too Much Vitamin C
Everyone’s body is different, and herbal supplements can affect people differently. Vitamin C in small doses is helpful and even recommended for women who have wanted pregnancies. Large doses of vitamin C can cause blood clotting, red blood cell problems, and even heart complications. Excessive doses of vitamin C can also cause kidney stones and kidney disease, and people who take anticoagulants like aspirin should never take such doses.
The Origin of the Vitamin C Abortion Procedure
The vitamin C abortion procedure seems to have originated from two Russian scientists doing a study back in the 1960s. In a study of 20 women, they came to the conclusion that high doses of vitamin C could cause an abortion. However, many details were missing from the article. First of all, there were only 20 women, and no mention of whether they had tested positive for being pregnant.
Furthermore, the article did not specify the doses of vitamin C or whether it was by pills, liquid, or injection. According to the article, 16 of the 20 women began menstrual bleeding within one to three days. This article seems to have been the cornerstone for vitamin C abortions and has been repeated throughout Internet searches.
But Does Vitamin C Abortion Work?
Research on Vitamin C Abortion Effectiveness
There has been no legitimate research to verify that a certain amount of vitamin C can cause an early miscarriage abortion. Yes, hundreds of articles and websites discuss the topic, but no verification of effectiveness. All kinds of herbal abortion remedies have existed for hundreds of years, many of which had disastrous results.
Internet Information Validity on Vitamin C Abortions
With the internet, these herbal and vitamin supplement remedies for unwanted pregnancies are repeated over and over, but that does not make them accurate, and a physician has presented none of this information. The original article from Russia was written nearly 60 years ago. If it were accurate, surely there would have been extensive studies verifying the success of vitamin C abortions by now, but there are none.
The only conclusion can be that the vitamin C abortion procedure does not work.