A pill to control the uterus: misoprostol and reproductive politics in Burkina Faso and Senegal.

African women's uteri have long been objects of biomedical and technological control, from the promotion and discouragement of births by colonial authorities and development experts, to the neoliberal and feminist achievements of reproductive autonomy through consuming pharmaceutical products. We explore misoprostol - a medication for abortion and hemorrhage - as a technology for reproductive control in Burkina Faso and Senegal. By tracing authorized and unauthorized misoprostol use and distribution within and beyond hospitals, and in official and unofficial pharmaceutical circuits, we examine the perils of and possibilities for uterine control offered by this medication to local, national, and global stakeholders.