Ru 486 Misconceptions Myths and Morals - ressourcesfeministes

Claims for RU 486/PG Abortionwider range of time. Even Edouard Sakiz, chairman ofRoussel Uclaf, admits that:As abortifacient procedures go, RU 486 is not at all easy touse. In fact it is much more complex to use than the techniqueof vacuum extraction. True, no anaesthetic is required. Buta woman who wants to end her pregnancy has to ‘live’with her abortion for at least a week using this technique.It’s an appalling psychological ordeal (Nau, 1990:16).The length of time for a chemical abortion to ‘take,’ added tothe time involved in multiple visits to the center ofadministration, is one great omission from the comparativeassertions. Often a woman has to wait hours or days, or insome cases, weeks, for the embryo to be expelled. Whilethis may not be ‘an appalling psychological ordeal,’ as Sakizhas termed it, at the very least it is an unpleasant andunwanted experience. In the meantime, bleeding has begunas well. Does the woman continue her work, or does shewait for the expulsion to happen in the privacy of her homeor the ‘privacy’ of the street? Comparatively, conventionalabortion has the advantage of being quick and time-limited,instead of multi-stepped and long drawn-out.RU 486/PG works best within a 49-day time period after awoman’s last period; conventional abortions can be performedsafely and effectively within the entire first trimester ofpregnancy. The RU 486/PG method is associated with greaterblood loss than is suction curettage. Both, as delivered withinthe current medicalized setting, require doctor supervision.Physicians, however, are not necessary to performconventional abortions, as we argue in the conclusion to thisreport. A trained lay practitioner is capable of performingskilled conventional terminations. While some methods ofconventional abortion can lead to infection and uterineperforation, this depends on the method employed, the skillof the provider, and the context in which it is performed.51