Ru 486 Misconceptions Myths and Morals - ressourcesfeministes

RU 486The clearest answer lies in the medical journal articlesthemselves. The conclusions that much of the medicalliterature draws are not consistent with the findings that thearticles present. Additionally, every article, without exception,remarks that RU 486 should be administered only under strictmedical supervision. The reality of medical surveillance is notsimply physician oversight from a distance, but a highlymedicalized, multi-step, time-consuming procedure which, formany women, involves continuous suffering and pain. Thistreatment regimen deserves careful scrutiny.1. A woman seeking a chemical abortion must submit to aphysical examination and pregnancy test. This includesa pelvic examination to see if there is any uterine bleedingor previous pelvic infection. During the physicalexamination, women should be checked forcontraindications, making the drug more dangerous forcertain women. Most centers, now testing oradministering the new abortion pill, use vaginalultrasonography, i.e., sound waves that project a pictureof the embryo on a screen to estimate gestational age ofthe pregnancy; and/or a determination of serum humanchorionic gonadotropin (ß-hCG) to confirm and definethe age of a woman’s pregnancy.2. Depending on the legal situation in a particular country,many centers impose a waiting period of at least 24 hoursor more after which a woman must return to the clinic orhospital for RU 486, given in tablet form (usually three).Contrary to the popular picture of the pill-poppingabortion, a woman does not take these tablets home butusually swallows them in the presence of a nurse ordoctor while she is at the clinic. This has been one of themyths supporting the privatization argument for RU 486.Some feminists have claimed that women eventually willbe able to obtain RU 486/PG at the local supermarket.However, a woman must go to a clinic or other medicalcenter to obtain the tablets and return to the center for26