http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/354017p-301730c.htmlA $1 pill meant to help with ulcers is gaining notoriety for its unintended side effect - it also causes abortions.
Sold under the brand name Cytotec and nicknamed "the star pill" for its hexagonal shape, misoprostol is already well known in poor, immigrant communities in New York and abroad as a cheap and private way to end an unwanted pregnancy.
"There's a black market for it," said Dr. Eric Schaff, professor of Family Medicine at the University of Buffalo. "Women get very desperate with unintended pregnancy. And legal abortions still cost several hundred dollars."
An 800-microgram dose of misoprostol, about four pills, is 60% to 90% effective at ending a pregnancy when taken alone in the first seven weeks, studies show.
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But unprescribed misoprostol use - which is both dangerous and discouraged by the FDA - is commonplace in Latin American countries where abortion is illegal.