Maryann Cole "Rue"

Maryann Cole (WA)

historical abortifacient: rue
acrylic paint on tiny canvas
3.5" x 3.5"
ready to hang

In exploring the application of natural materials for health benefits, I became curious about historical abortifacients. Their root, their application, and both their efficacy and effectiveness. While I’m less interested in the process by which abortions are induced, the possible danger of ingesting what was seen as a way to terminate pregnancy remains of interest. Do these plants still hold a secret methodology of absolution? Not without risk.

By trying to prevent a life one isn’t ready to give, one may be inadvertently ending their own. The maternal toxicity of rue, a uterine stimulant, can lead to death of both parent and child. This emmenagogue (a plant that induces menstruation) is known as “herb-of-grace.” The perennial sabin’s lupine was also utilized in the Victorian era to bring about miscarriage. In the late Angus McLaren’s 1978 work Birth Control and Abortion in Canada 1870-1920, he identified this lupine among tansy, quinine, and black hellebore as chosen remedies for self-induction.

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