Mifepristone/RU 486
Also Known as RU-486 or the Abortion Pill, Mifepristone blocks progesterone necessary for sustaining a pregnancy and causes the uterus to contract, effectively ending 92-95% of pregnancies. Background The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone (commonly known as RU-486 or the Abortion Pill) on September 28, 2000. Two months later, the first shipments of Mifeprex, the U.S. brand name for mifepristone, were sent to health care providers in the U.S. This was a groundbreaking moment for American women because it put us on par with European women who have had access to this safe, effective and early form of medical (non-surgical) abortion for more than a decade. For years, anti-choice politicians in the U.S., including former President George Bush, played doctor with women’s lives by keeping the drug out of this country. How does mifepristone work? Mifepristone works by blocking progesterone, a hormone that is necessary to sustain a pregnancy, in combination with misoprostol, a prostaglandin that completes the abortion by causing the uterus to contract. In combination with misoprostol, the mifepristone is 92-95% effective in ending pregnancy and requires three visits to a doctor’s office. How soon can mifepristone be used? Mifepristone is a very early abortion option that can be used as soon as a woman knows she is pregnant – much earlier than surgical abortions can be performed. Surgical abortions are not usually performed before the sixth week of pregnancy but mifepristone can be used immediately for up to seven weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period. Can mifepristone be used for other medical purposes? Millions of Americans suffer from a range of diseases that may potentially be treated by mifepristone. These diseases and conditions include breast and ovarian cancers, the HIV virus, endometriosis, fibroid tumors, miningiomas, and Cushing’s Syndrome. It is vital that the FDA and Department of Health and Human Services continue research into these other uses of mifepristone. Anti-choice legislators in Ohio are moving to block access to mifepristone. In Ohio, anti-choice legislators are pushing a bill that would mandate that mifepristone be prescribed in a manner that would triple its cost. If passed, HB 126 would single out this drug and force doctors to prescribe unnecessarily high doses of mifepristone to their patients. It would prohibit doctors from using their best medical judgment and prescribing only the amount necessary to treat their patient. The purpose of this bill to is to make medical abortions so expensive that women will not be able to afford them anymore. At the federal level, lawmakers have proposed legislation designed to curtail the availability of mifepristone and limit the number of doctors who can prescribe it. Such legislation would effectively destroy the promise of this important medical advancement.
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