Abortifacients are substances that are used to induce an abortion. If it is taken orally an abortifacient is often referred to as an abortion pill.

If animals mate undesirably then the abortifacients that are used are commonly called "mismating shots."

An abortifacient can be either herbal or pharmaceutical in nature.

Centuries ago the economy of Cyrene, an ancient Greek colony, was almost entirely based on the production and export of an herb called silphium. Silphium was a powerful abortifacient that was part of the parsley family.

Pliny the Elder said that, although silphium could be used to treat sore throats, coughs, fever, aches and pains, indigestion, and warts, that its chief medical use was as an herbal contraceptive.

Now considered to be extinct, silphium was so important to Cyrene's trade that most of their coins depicted a stalk of the plant. One theory is that the combination of overharvesting and overgrazing led to its extinction. Another theory is that it became extinct because the area in which it grew in, which is now part of Libya, became a desert over time.

In any case, Pliny reported that the Emperor Nero received the last know stalk of silphium found in the coastal area of Cyrenaica.

As the Catholic Church increased its influence in Europe, people who dispensed abortifacients were classified as witches and often were persecuted.

During medieval times Muslim physicians documented extensive detailed lists of birth control practices. Within their treatise they commented on the prevalence and effectiveness of abortifacients.

Islamic jurists accepted the use of abortifacients as long as the abortion occurred within 120 days. They believed that at that point in time the fetus would receive its soul and become fully human.

Today a number of herbalists sell specific plants and herbs over the counter and claim that they act as abortifacients if the herbs are taken in specific doses or mixed with other herbs.

Some examples of over the counter abortifacients are blue cohosh, brewer's yeast, pennyroyal, wild carrot, vitamin C, papaya latex, mugwort, nutmeg, ergot, common rue, vervain, tansy, and saffron.

Although there is no data that supports the herbalists' claims it has been shown during animal studies that pomegranates may be an effective abortifacient.

Many women have taken oral contraceptives so that they would not need to even consider whether or not they should take an abortifacient. However, some of the birth control pills that women have taken have caused serious illnesses and even death.

As a result, a number of law firms represent women, or their survivors, in lawsuits that target the pharmaceutical companies that caused their pain and suffering.