Ru 486 Misconceptions Myths and Morals - ressourcesfeministes

The Role of Prostaglandins: Known and Unknown Dangersthan that encountered by the body’s individual cells in theirnatural environment. Therapeutic applications may bejustified because they benefit patients whose continuedexistence, together with the quality of that existence, isjeopardized by an ongoing disease process. On the otherhand, the advantages of PGs in these situations is not alicence for their application to healthy women seeking toterminate pregnancy.Prostaglandins In the Treatment of Human HealthDisordersThe understanding of the limits and safe usage of PGmedications is in its infancy, but many of its clinicalrestrictions identify the potential risks for healthy womenfrom a PG-containing chemical abortion ‘cocktail’. PGs havebeen used, with favorable outcomes, in critical illnesses suchas septic shock, adult respiratory stress syndrome, cardiacdysfunction, upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage, myocardialinfarction, and liver and renal failure. One threatening longtermbiological consequence of the PG component of thechemical abortion ‘cocktail’ is that most PG analogues inhibitthe immune response. Misoprostol, a synthetic PGE 1analogue, has been shown to reduce the incidence of rejectionepisodes in kidney transplant patients, while simultaneouslyprotecting the kidney transplant from the toxic effects of otherimmunosuppressive drugs (Moran et al., 1990).Misoprostol is one of the few PG analogues that has oralbio-availability. It was recently reported (Altman, 1991) tobe Baulieu’s new PG additive, which he now advocates as asimpler way to use the RU 486 abortion pill, either unaware that ithas little uterine effects and/or unconcerned with itsimmunosuppressive properties. Immune suppression inkidney, heart, liver and bone marrow transplant patientsconstitutes one of those ethical compromises, for while it isaccompanied by an increased incidence of cancer and fatalinfection, death from a terminal illness is the alternative to a83