New French birth control pill

The FRENCH PILL ENDS PREGNANCY BY ABORTION

The drug, a French produced steriod called RU 486, still is years away from approval for sale in the UNITED STATES. But decisions in Washington and in corporate board rooms in the coming months may determine whether it ever becomes available here. The drug prevents a fertilized egg from implanting itself in a women’s uterus and dislodges any embryo implanted. Tests in France have found it 85% effective during the first 10 days of pregnancy. Some promoters see RU 486 as a once-a-month postcoital contraceptive. In theory those taking this pill would never know if they had been pregnant or not.

Implictions go beyond medical questions. Some pro-abortionists see potential for defusing abortion as a political issue by enabling women to halt pregnancy in privacy of their homes away from public glare and emotional trama of surgical clinics. Anti-Abortion groups concede that with no more horrifying images of aborted fetuses, their campaigns will lose emotional impact. They promise a vocal and vigorous protest both in Washington and in the marketplace against what they call the “death pill”. Their first move is an attempt in Congress this summer to stop the Food and Drug Administration from authorizing tests on the drugh. Federal law already bans U.S. funded research on abortion. But private testing is permitted, with FDA approval. In one FDA-sanctioned study at the University of Southern California, 200 pregnant women were given the drug. That test proved 70% effective. Pro-abortionist are confident of heading off congressional moves to tie the FDA’s hands. They plan to go a step further and seek to lift restrictions on federal research on abortion. So far, U.S. drug firms show little interest in RU 486. Fear of product-liability lawsuits and consumer boycotts by “right-to-life” groups has them on edge. (from U.S. News & World Report, June 1, 1987 pg 31)

Stay informed fellow believer. Act upon your convictions!