Word: ru
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...maintaining a woman's right to have an abortion tops the agenda of pro- choice forces, then introducing RU 486, the so-called abortion pill, into the U.S. ranks second. So far the foes of abortion have managed to keep the French-made drug out of the country. But last week a delegation of American feminists and scientists met in Paris with executives of Roussel Uclaf, the French company that manufactures the drug, and in Frankfurt with officials * from Hoechst AG, Roussel's parent company. The Americans presented a petition signed by 115,000 people urging the distribution of RU...
Judged simply on efficacy and safety, RU 486 marks a major advancement over other pregnancy-ending techniques. The drug, which is most effective if used within seven weeks of conception, prevents the hormone progesterone from being absorbed by the lining of the uterus. Without that nourishment the uterus cannot support the growth of the embedded fertilized egg, and the woman miscarries. Taken with prostaglandin, a naturally occurring substance that causes mild uterine contractions, the drug is 95% effective. Developed in 1982 by Dr. Etienne-Emile Baulieu, RU 486 has so far been used by an estimated 55,000 women...
...legalization of RU 486 will alter the moral underpinnings of both sides of the debate. Anti-abortionists will have little effectiveness in convincing us that a blood clot is a fetus. Pro-choicers will be just as ineffective in arguing that regulation of abortions will force women into back-alleys...
...that demand may be just as great for RU 486. The pill is safer, faster, and less expensive than abortion surgery...
Whether surgical abortions remain legal or not, RU 486 is a reality. Now, the question is whether it will be taken legally and with recommended medical attention, or illegally and with a risk of harm...