Far from the myth of a "simple," "safe" procedure, taking the abortifacient
RU 486 is an involved, complicated, multi-step process.
Induction of abortion with mifepristone (
RU 486) and oral or vaginal misoprostol.
The possibility of alternative avenues of distribution had, in fact, been created earlier in agreements between Roussel-UCLAF and some organizations that had done research on the drug to protect public funds invested in the research and to enable the distribution of
RU 486 in the Third World should Roussel-UCLAF decline or fail to do so.
Templeton, "The Effect of the Antiprogestin Mifepristone (
RU 486) on Maturation and In-Vitro Fertilization of Human Oocytes," British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 95:592-595, 1988.
c) RU 486/PG: Increases Severity Of Adverse
RU 486 Effects And Presents Separate Complications
This is not to say that
RU 486 will replace abortion services as we know them or that all women will choose to use
RU 486.
Instead of privatizing abortion, the use of
RU 486 requires at least four, and as many as seven, trips to the hospital or clinic.
Will he show the same intelligence and independence on
RU 486 and stand up the Republican orthodoxy on this important scientific issue?
RU 486 works by blocking the action of progesterone, a hormone required to maintain pregnancy.
Thus far, no drug company has publicly requested a supplemental indication approval, and according to Wayne Koberstein, editor of Pharmaceutical Executive, "it is very unlikely that any large brand-name company will take this on." Ironically, what may prevent methotrexate from becoming widely available for abortion is its low cost (four dollars per dose compared to two hundred dollars for
RU 486).
Some may argue, incorrectly, that pregnancy begins at fertilization, and if
RU 486 acts by preventing implantation of the fertilized ovum, the result is an abortion.
RU 486 is also used in cases of difficult and prolonged labor, often reducing the need for a caesarean section.