The Chemical Geographies of Misoprostol: Spatializing Abortion Access from the Biochemical to the Global

Abstract

C 22 H 38 O 5 is a chemical that travels. Better known as misoprostol, it was designed as a stomach ulcer drug but is now used around the world as an abortion pill due to the self-experimentation of those in Latin American communities who were seeking ways to end unwanted pregnancies. We develop a chemical geography approach to misoprostol that allows us to scale inward to understand the chemical properties of this medication and also to scale out to understand how medicinal effects are interwoven with and determined by global politics. Misoprostol as a chemical alone does not guarantee a successful abortion and instead “scaffolding” in the form of mobility and information is required to transform misoprostol from a chemical to a safe and effective technology of abortion. First, we examine how misoprostol is moved by feminist networks in Mexico and Peru. Second, we argue that to be useful it is not enough just to access the pills, as information on how to use them is required. These themes culminate in our contribution of pharmacokinetical geographies, the microgeography of the placement of pharmaceuticals in and on a body and its ramifications. The chemical geographies of misoprostol tell a story of power, bodily autonomy, and resistance.