abortifacient, any drug or chemical preparation that induces abortion.
For centuries, herbal abortifacients have been made from infusions or oils of plants such as pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium), angelica (Angelica species), and tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). Such preparations are no more likely to terminate a pregnancy than they are to induce potentially lethal reactions such as vomiting, hemorrhages, and convulsions in the women who take them. Truly effective abortifacients were not developed until the end of the 20th century, when the biochemical processes behind cell division and growth and the role of hormones in reproductive processes were understood. The most common agents of modern medical abortion include mifepristone (also known as RU-486), a steroid, and methotrexate, an antimetabolite; both are used during the early weeks of pregnancy in conjunction with the synthetic prostaglandin misoprostol.
Misoprostol, administered in prescribed doses either orally or as a vaginal suppository, causes the uterus to contract much as it would at the beginning of labour or during a miscarriage. Taken alone, it is rarely sufficient to expel the embryo and placenta from the uterus, but it is very effective as a sequel to treatment with mifepristone or methotrexate.
Mifepristone works by competing with progesterone for receptors on cells. By occupying receptor binding sites, it prevents the hormone from stimulating the inner lining of the uterus to prepare for implantation by a fertilized ovum. When administered early in pregnancy, mifepristone causes the breakdown of the uterine lining; a follow-up dose of misoprostol induces expulsion of the embryo and other uterine contents.
Methotrexate, administered by injection, blocks the rapid cell division characteristic of embryonic and placental growth. Once this growth is ended, administration of misoprostol completes the abortion.