Ru 486 Misconceptions Myths and Morals - ressourcesfeministes

Claims for RU 486/PG Abortionmedical treatment can be given on an outpatient basis andmay thus free ward and theatre facilities, with obvious resourceimplications’ (Urquhart and Templeton, 1988:106).Another consideration is the attitude of doctors towardconventional abortions. Many doctors resent or resistperforming abortions. As has been documented in somestudies, there is also a level of provider ‘burn-out’ in thedelivery of conventional abortion services. Given thissituation, it is not surprising that doctors may prefer chemicalabortions over conventional methods because RU 486/PGactually humanizes the abortion experience more for thedoctor than for the woman.Providers’ attitudes toward methods of abortion may havesignificant influence on the method selected by women. Manyof the studies supporting the safety and effectiveness of RU486/PG cite high percentages of women’s satisfaction withthis abortion technique. In the few follow-up questionnairesand/or interviews conducted after RU 486/PG treatment,women report 60–90 per cent preference for chemical overthe indiscriminately termed ‘surgical’ method. Reasons suchas ‘awareness of what was happening to them,’ ‘more natural,’‘avoidance of general anaesthesia,’ ‘more discreet,’ and ‘lesstraumatizing’ have all been mentioned. Perhaps because ofwomen’s experience of a prior anaesthetized surgicalpregnancy termination, the climate of provider punitivenesstoward women undergoing abortion, including doctors’ambivalence/ hostility to conventional methods, and the waysin which a larger social climate induces guilt in women whoconsider undergoing abortions, this preference isunderstandable. This is not to claim that conventional abortionis a positive and uplifting experience for women, nor that beingin the stirrups promotes any version of female control. It is tosay that RU 486/PG does not change this order of things.An unfortunate effect of the brief comparisons offered inthe medical journals between chemical and conventionalabortions is that RU 486 can be pitted against suction and53