In the early 1900s, tansy was widely used to induce abortions. The perennial flowering plant, native to Eurasia and found throughout mainland Europe, had been an abortifacient since the Middle Ages. Although ineffective and toxic to the liver in large doses, poor women used it because doctors charged $25 to $75, two to six times the average weekly wage. Read about a young, unwed, pregnant Italian immigrant 100 years ago in the novel Tazia and Gemma. See more about the book in NOVELS).
