What Was The Rabbit Test?

Before the days of instant home pregnancy tests, women seeking confirmation of their suspicions faced a far more invasive and ethically troubling ordeal: the rabbit test. Developed in the 1930s, this test involved injecting a woman's urine into a female rabbit. After a few days, the rabbit would be dissected to examine its ovaries for signs of hormonal changes induced by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hormone produced during pregnancy. The development of more reliable and humane pregnancy tests in the 1960s and 70s, such as the hemagglutination inhibition test and radioimmunoassay, marked the rabbit test's decline. Finally, the arrival of home pregnancy tests in the late 1970s made accurate pregnancy detection readily available and completely eliminated the need for the rabbit test's barbaric practice.