De “droga do século XXI” a “abortivo vendido ilegalmente”: a vida midiática do misoprostol no Brasil

Abstract

Since its arrival in Brazil in the mid-1980s, misoprostol (Cytotec®) has had a complex social life. Originally developed for the treatment of gastric ulcers, the drug has become widely used to induce abortions. This paper analyzes 203 articles published between 1980 and 2019 in the newspapers Folha de São Paulo, O Estado de São Paulo, and O Globo, which document part of this trajectory. We find that, despite the growing body of scientific evidence attesting to its central role in reproductive health, as well as its safety and efficacy, the drug has often been portrayed as dangerous and illegal. This media framing has reinforced the stigma and criminalization of misoprostol in Brazil, denying women and other pregnant people the right to access an essential medicine and a reproductive technology whose appropriation and redefinition have largely been led by them.