These pills, advertised in rather oblique language, were used by women to attempt to abort a pregnancy. Sold at pharmacies, they were mainly powdered capsicum coated in sugar and chalk. The claimed active ingredients were oil of pennyroyal and iron sulfate. Pills such as these had no medical basis, but desperate women tried many different chemicals in their attempts to induce abortions.
Using this item
National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference:
Evening Post, 12 August 1903, p. 2
Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
Add new comment