Resumen : Cytotec is a brand name for misoprostol, a synthetic analogue of prostaglandin E1. Cytotec was developed in the 1970s for the treatment of certain gastric and duodenal ulcers. Like all prostaglandins, Cytotec makes smooth muscles, including the uterus, contract. In Brazil, Cytotec was widely used by women to self-induce abortion. When this became known, the government took action to keep the drug out of the hands of women. Cytotec was introduced in Brazil in 1986, and information about its abortifacient qualities quickly spread through a large "underground" network. In 1988, the drug was approved in the US for use against ulcers, and anti-abortion groups publicly opposed the granting of this license because of Cytotec's abortifacient effect. This led anti-abortion activists in Brazil to begin a campaign to restrict sales of the drug, and restrictions were duly in place by 1992; however, the drug is still available on the black market. It is difficult to estimate the extent of Cytotec use during this period, but interviews with gynecologists and with women who used the drug indicate that its use was becoming more and more common, that it reduced the health risk associated with illegal abortions, and it influenced the attitudes of women and physicians towards abortions. Many of the women who used the drug felt that its use should be limited to certain conditions, such as the first month of pregnancy. Most would not recommend it or use it again themselves. Women in the women's health movement are beginning to organize politically around the issue of abortion in Latin America. Until women in this region are presented with opportunities to achieve safe abortion, they will continue to bear unwanted children or to attempt to terminate unwanted pregnancies despite the danger this action entails.
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