A new gel for intracervical application of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) has been elaborated and evaluated. The main component of the gel is a cross-linked starch polymer to which prostaglandins can be added and preserved for long-term storage (> 12 months). In a double blind study, 20 patients requiring legal abortion in late first trimester were given gel containing 0.25 mg PGE2 or gel without PGE2. The gel was applied within the cervical canal. In all patients receiving PGE2-gel, a rapid ripening of the cervix occurred which facilitated the subsequent dilatation and evacuation. In patients receiving gel without PGE2 cervix did not ripen. In a subsequent open study, 30 patients were treated with PGE2-gel before therapeutic abortion. The same degree of cervical ripening was registered as for the patients receiving PGE2-gel in the double blind study. In 50 patients at term, intracervical application of 3 ml gel containing 0.05 mg PGE2 induced labor in 27 cases, i.e. 54 per cent of the patients. In the remaining undelivered women, a prominent cervical ripening occurred within 24 hours. No side effects of the treatment were observed. We conclude the new PGE2-gel to be a promising future alternative in the treatment of patients with an unfavorable cervix, prior to surgical evacuation of the uterus in late first trimester abortion, as well as before induction of labor at term.