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MEDICATION / CHEMICAL ABORTIONS
RU-486--It isn't a contraceptive.
Used at 5 to 7 weeks, RU 486 kills an unborn baby whose heart has already begun to beat. This is the only purpose for which the sponsor ever sought U.S. government approval.
Fact Sheet:
Risks and Complications of Chemical Abortions
It isn't safe or easy.
Heavy bleeding, nausea, vomiting, and painful uterine contractions are common features of a process TIME magazine calls "A painful, messy, and protracted." About 2% hemorrhage and more than 1 in a 100 require hospitalization. An Iowa woman took RU486 and lost nearly 3/4 of her blood and likely would have died without emergency surgery.
It isn't simple or convenient.
At a minimum, the RU486 procedure involves two drugs and three trips to the doctor's office over a two week period. For 4-5% of women, the pills don't work, making them return for surgical abortions.
It won't make abortion rare.
The pill's promoters have reason to believe RU486 will help them increase the number of doctors willing to perform abortions. Since there has always been a corrolary between the number of abortions and the number of abortionists, RU 486 is likely to increase the number of abortions in the U.S. beyond the already appalling at just over 1.2 million a year.