article on ru 486

Campaign for RU486 & Contraceptive Research*Picture: Feminist Majority Foundation* The Medical Uses of Mifepristone In addition to its use in terminating unwanted pregnancies, MIFEPRISTONE (formerly known as RU-486) also may be effective in treating a range of serious diseases and medical conditions, many of which particularly affect women. Yet American clinical trials for most of these uses have come to a standstill due to anti-abortion politics. A B O R T I O N & F …

…entire practice. Dr. Thomas Purdon, president-elect of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, spoke with a lot of his colleagues last week after the news broke and found them both receptive and cautious. "The medical abortion is less traumatic and done so much earlier in a pregnancy that physicians can rationalize the fact that they are not disrupting a more advanced pregnancy," he said. "The emotional and ethical barriers are easier to cross." MORE**