Abortifacients: The Early Years

Ol Rutae, German for Oil of Rutae, appeared in the marketplace as early as the 1600s. The handblown glass bottled was filled with with herb, Ruta graveolens, distilled in alcohol. The medicinial potion might be perscribed as a stimulant or antispasmodic for convulsions and hysteria. Rua, more commonly known as Rue, was also frequently used to induce miscarriages. 

European abortifacents were available in apothecaries during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This handblown glass bottle came from the Bristol-Myers Squibb European Apothecary run by Dr. Jo Mayer. 

Soap was an accessible abortifacient material. Its composition irritated embryonic tissues and was inserted into the uterus late in the pregnany to cause inflamation. The results could be deadly for the fetus and mother.