In hundreds of groups on the social media app, women with unwanted pregnancies are turning to each other for pills and herbal remedies, but many say they are being scammed instead.

_{By means of Emily Baker-WhiteForbes Staff}

Nasty In a Facebook group with more than 8,000 strangers, Brazilian women are begging for help.

“I am 15 weeks pregnant, I don’t know what to do anymore. I tried the medicine at 8 weeks and it went wrong,” reads one post.

“I am 9 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I have tried every possible tea I saw on the internet, and some of them really hurt. I already have two small children, and this one came from carelessness…. Time flies and I am desperate,” says another.

A third woman says she can’t afford abortion drugs, so she’s looking for other remedies. A fourth says she spent the only money she had on a sale that she now fears was a scam.

The group hosting these posts is called “Safe Abortion — Helping Women.” In Brazil, where abortion is mostly illegal, nearly 200,000 women have joined similar groups dedicated to buying and selling mifepristone, misoprostol and a variety of homemade remedies they hope will end their unwanted pregnancies.

The groups are not for the faint of heart. Many feature photos of bloody sanitary napkins and fetal solids, and many more contain cries for help from women fleeing abusive partners or fearing for the health of their existing children. Posts warning of scammers and fake pills are common, as are side discussions about unprotected sex and contraception. Every now and then, an anti-abortion advocate will chime in and advise women to consider adoption.

Brazil is one of many countries where women are turning to a murky Facebook landscape to seek abortion help. Forbes The platform’s review found nearly 800 groups and pages in 76 countries that connect women with abortion remedies — at least 300 of which operate in countries where abortion is sometimes illegal, or even a criminal offense. All told, the groups have nearly 1.8 million members. Forbes found that Facebook groups and pages selling abortion drugs were present in nearly every major region of the world, including abortion-restrictive population centers such as Brazil (111 groups; >191,000 members), Kenya (50 groups; >111,000 members), and the Philippines (57 groups; >37,000 members). We also found them in Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Japan, Germany, and Norway.

Seventeen groups and pages claimed to provide abortion pills to women in the United States, though it is unclear how many of them actually make the pills available. The largest, with more than 117,000 members, directed users to a URL related to abortion that then redirected to an adult website. The group’s two administrators, one of whom sells live poultry in the Philippines through his Facebook profile, did not respond to requests for interviews. (Disclosure: In a previous life, I held content policy roles at Facebook and Spotify.)

Many of the groups have taken advantage of a new Facebook feature that allows group members to post in groups as an “anonymous participant,” rather than under the name they use on Facebook. Of the group members who sell drugs and remedies instead of seeking them out, many have taken other steps to hide their identities — which, if revealed, could jeopardize their safety and freedom. One private group in Brazil listed 10 administrators, all of whom used what appeared to be AI-generated profile photos and four who listed their last names as “cyto” or “cito” — short for cytotec, Pfizer’s brand for misoprostol. While some of the groups claim to be run by doctors, many clearly are not and instead provide spaces where women can buy and sell pills and other products without a prescription.

Abortion bans don’t make people less likely to terminate a pregnancy, but they do make it harder to do so safely, Katy Mayall, director of strategic initiatives at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told Forbes that there are reputable websites where people can learn how to arrange their own abortions and order safe, authentic pills. (She recommended Women Help Women, Women on Web, and INeedAnA.com.) But the Facebook groups, she said, are a double-edged sword: While they may help women, they can be a gateway for scammers and fraudsters, and they pose health and privacy risks for people in restrictive countries.

One risk for people in these groups is that Facebook could be required to share their personal information with law enforcement. In August 2022, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled abortion illegal in dozens of U.S. states, Facebook was required to turn over messages between a mother and daughter to Nebraska law enforcement, who used them as evidence in their prosecution of the women for purchasing and using abortion pills to end a pregnancy. The daughter subsequently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of removing, concealing, or abandoning a dead human body, and the mother pleaded guilty to that charge and an additional charge of performing an abortion after 20 weeks.

Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Facebook began removing groups, pages and posts between women attempting to buy and sell abortion drugs. But the continued monitoring of that activity has proven difficult for the platform: Many of the groups no longer refer to the drugs by name, instead using euphemisms like “candy” and “caramelos.”

Facebook’s parent company Meta allows companies in some countries to run ads for prescription drugs, including mifepristone and misoprostol, as long as the ads aren’t targeted to people under 18. Advertisers who promote prescription drugs must provide Meta with proof that they have the proper license to sell them and must get pre-approval before running ads.

Meta does not prohibit women from talking about their experiences with self-performed abortions on its platforms and in the groups and pages it reviews. ForbesIt appears that the actual drug sales rarely take place on Facebook itself. Instead, sellers typically direct potential buyers to WhatsApp, Meta’s encrypted chat service; “DM me for candy” is typical of such requests. When someone contacts the WhatsApp numbers posted in some of these groups, they sometimes get an automated welcome message asking for details about their location and the stage of their pregnancy.

One provider quoted Forbes with a price range between $80 and $200 USD, for various purported medications and remedies. Women on Web, one of the websites Mayall recommended, offers combinations of mifepristone and misoprostol for between 70 and 90 euros, depending on the patient’s location.

When Forbes We reached out to dozens of these numbers on WhatsApp, but few responded after we identified ourselves as journalists. One provider we messaged said they were “saddened to see the death toll of women from abortion.” Another person whose number was posted in the groups said they were not a provider but that they “receive messages every day asking for solutions.”

Meta spokesperson Ryan Daniels said in a statement: “We want our platforms to be a place where people can safely discuss the issues that matter to them, including health topics. At the same time, we have specific rules and policies around buying, selling, or trading prescription medications, and protections to protect people from scammers, whether health-related or otherwise. We will take action against any Pages or groups that we find to be violating our policies.”

In some groups, women ask and advise each other on how to end pregnancies with home remedies. Although most of these remedies are harmless (although they are not effective), some can lead to health problems. Several of the groups that are Forbes included advice that women use a combination of over-the-counter medications and Coca-Cola to end their pregnancies. The drug does not cause abortions, but can cause vaginal infections and other health problems.

The groups are also rife with warnings about several Facebook profiles either taking money for pills they never deliver or delivering drugs that are fake. One account — an administrator of several groups in Brazil — posted a series of formulaic messages that appeared to repeat the same desperate story of an 18-year-old woman seeking help as part of a large-scale effort to reach other women in need.

In addition to claims from one-time scammers, Forbes also found evidence of larger, more coordinated efforts to reach — and possibly mislead — women seeking care. In Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Canada and other locations, a network of hundreds of pages offers “abortion kits” with the same set of profile photos, descriptions and phone numbers.

Some groups and pages specifically sought out women with difficult abortion needs, such as those who are 6, 7, or even 8 months pregnant. In a group for South Africa, where abortion is legal, one participant wrote, “I was 6 months! Now I’m free after being scammed 3 times, don’t give up ladies.” Several other members of the group also mentioned having been scammed repeatedly and ultimately terminating late-term pregnancies as a result.

Other groups specifically target teenage girls who aren’t ready to become parents — dozens of posts by a group admin who identifies as a doctor promoted a Zimbabwean service to the group’s 800-plus members: “Teens welcome, no parental consent required.” The message was also included on the group’s “about” page. Abortion is only legal in the country in cases of rape, incest, when the pregnancy threatens the life or health of the pregnant woman, or if the fetus is at risk of serious physical or mental abnormalities.

Groups for buying and selling abortion remedies have also flourished in South Africa, which—unlike most other countries on the African continent—has widely legalized abortion. Of the groups that have been Forbes142 offered their services in the country, with many promising to personally deliver pills or herbal remedies.

A recent post in a 39,000-person South African group read: “Thank god I’m free but it hurts guys.” A series of comments under the post followed, with others asking what method the original poster used, how they could take care of themselves and how much it would cost. More than 30 comments down, one user questioned the group’s premise.

“Just so you know, guys, the pills are free at the hospital and it’s safe.”

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