Ru 486 Misconceptions Myths and Morals - ressourcesfeministes

The History of RU 486Events in FranceThe history of RU 486 took a dramatic turn in 1988. InSeptember, Roussel Uclaf was licensed by the French Ministryof Health to market RU 486. But on 26 October, ChairmanSakiz of Roussel suspended the distribution of RU 498. Thepress claimed that Sakiz’ action was due to anti-abortionistthreats to the company and its employees. 8 In an interviewwith the New York Times on 28 October, Etienne Baulieucommented, ‘He [Sakiz] told me he hopes there is pressure tocounteract the decision’ (Simons, 1988: A1). Conveniently,the World Congress of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Rio deJaneiro, Brazil, was meeting at this very moment and includeda Symposium on RU 486—organized by Baulieu, Segal andRoussel Uclaf—which sent a petition of 2000 names to RousselUclaf, protesting the withdrawal of the drug.On 28 October 1988, the media reported that the FrenchMinister of Health, Claude Evin, had ordered Roussel Uclafto put RU 486 back on the market. (The French state owns36.25 per cent of Roussel Uclaf which, however, is short ofthe 51 per cent required to enforce a decision.) Evin wasquoted as saying that RU 486 had become ‘moralement laproprieté des femmes’ (Nau and Nouchi, 1988:9). Since then,the slogan that RU 486 is ‘the moral property of women’,has been the battlecry of promoters of the drug, includingsome feminist groups in the USA, Australia and Switzerland.In France, RU 486 was officially back—under tight security—at hospitals and centers licensed to perform abortion inFebruary 1989.Two years later, in January 1991, a bizarre twist was addedto the ‘official’ story. The French Government Council(Conseil d’Etat) reprimanded Health Minister Claude Evinfor exceeding his power in ordering Roussel Uclaf to returnRU 486 to the market in October 1988. Surprisingly,however, Evin now claims that he had not issued such anorder because ‘discussions and exchange of arguments withrepresentatives from Roussel Uclaf had made recourse to13