Ru 486 Misconceptions Myths and Morals - ressourcesfeministes

INTRODUCTIONInitial euphoria greeted the arrival of RU 486, the newchemical abortifacient. Billed as a remarkable scientificachievement and miracle drug, plaudits and pundits hailed itas the ‘magic bullet’ of the decade.In April 1991, however, the ‘magic bullet’ killed its firstreported victim. The French Ministry of Health announcedthe first woman’s death associated with RU 486. Officialsstated that a thirty-one-year-old woman, in her 13thpregnancy, had died of cardiovascular complicationsresulting from the synthetic prostaglandin, Nalador(sulprostone), which is given in conjunction with RU 486(thus we refer to the procedure hereafter as RU 486/PG).Significantly, the death occurred in France, the country whichhas performed over 60,000 chemical abortions and has themost experience with the drug.The promotion of RU 486/PG is happening at an historicalpoint when 50 million abortions per year are performedworldwide. Conventional abortion is a safe and effectiveprocedure, yet 200,000 women—the majority fromdeveloping countries—die annually from illegal and botchedterminations. The number of women who have died frompoorly performed and clandestine abortions during the lastten years in Nicaragua, for example, is greater than thenumber of women who were killed by the contras duringthat same time period.1