Ru 486 Misconceptions Myths and Morals - ressourcesfeministes

RU 486whose short and long-term effects are far from being fullyidentified. It is, of course, simpler and quicker to administera single dose. More important, administration of low dosesspread over seven days would further shatter the myth thatRU 486/PG abortion is an ‘easy’ and convenient way ofterminating a pregnancy.Both the WHO Multicenter Trial (1989) and the 1990Grimes et al. summary mention yet another hypothesis forunsuccessful RU 486 abortion. According to Grimes: ‘bodymass appears to influence the likelihood of abortion withmifepristone’ (1990:910). In ‘obese’ women, Grimes et al.contend that RU 486 may be diluted because of their largercirculating blood volume. Alternatively, body fat may extracta high amount of the drug (i.e. make it unavailable for actionin the uterine lining). However, the question is, what weightqualifies as obese? Grimes provides no figures, but the WHOpaper lists women whose mean weight was 65.7 kg/145pounds (no height correlation given) as those who have anincreased likelihood of experiencing treatment failure(1989:722). A weight of 65.7 kg is not unreasonable formedium-to-tall women. And if RU 486 administration islimited to thin or undernourished women, this further limitsits general usefulness as an abortifacient. Grimes mentionsthat little is known about the influence of estrogen—producedby fatty tissue—on the action of RU 486. This raises anotherunanswered question: unaffected estrogen in theendometrium might convert RU 486 into a progesteroneagonist, thereby inhibiting RU 486 activity.Another unresolved question about RU 486 is its halflife.4 (The term ‘half-life’ indicates the time taken for theactivity of a substance to reduce to half its initial value.) Baulieucontends that the half-life of RU 486 in plasma is 12–24hours after an intake of less than 200 mg. (Currently 600mg are administered). He notes that, ‘With a larger dose,the complex metabolic behaviour is not fully understood, but asingle oral administration can create high plasma64