Ru 486 Misconceptions Myths and Morals - ressourcesfeministes

What Is RU 486 and How Does It Work?In the case of a pregnancy, human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG) as previously directed by the anterior pituitary throughsecretion of luteinizing hormone (LH), continues to stimulatethe corpus luteum to secrete progesterone. However, ‘…themechanism of its [progesterone] secretion during pregnancyis incompletely understood’ (idem.). Together with estrogenit ‘…appears to be all that the gravid [pregnant] uterusrequires for the fertilized ovum to complete its developmentduring the initial six to eight weeks’ (idem.). After that timethe placenta and the embryo/fetus produce their own sexsteroids.It is a misconception, however, to perceive the antiprogestinRU 486 as a ‘new’ concept in fertility control. Sincethe first decade of this century, researchers have beeninterested in the role of the corpus luteum with regard to theviability of a woman’s pregnancy. While it was clearlyestablished that the corpus luteum played no role after theseventh week of gestation, its role as a source of progesteroneto nourish the embryo during the first seven weeks ofpregnancy was less clear cut.It is a further misconception to believe that this researchtook place in order to expand or improve women’s ‘choices’to control their reproduction. Quite unmistakenly, the conceptevolved as a means of population control. More than 20years ago, the Center of Population Research of the U.S.National Institutes of Health became interested in the corpusluteum and called for research to determine whether to find‘means to inhibit corpus luteum function is a desirable goal’.The specific intention of such research was to restrictpopulation growth in coun tries that were judged to be ‘underdeveloped.’If successful, the method(s) could be extendedto groups in the United States, Black, Hispanic and NativeAmerican Women (Department of Health, Education andWelfare, NIH, USA, 1969).By 1972, Arpad Csapo et al., 2 in St. Louis, Missouri, hadresponded to this call and identified the corpus luteum as59