Dear Colleague:

The United States has not one, but two abortion pills, MAP and RU-486.
Here are the differences.

Steven W. Mosher
President

PRI Weekly Briefing
28 December 2006
Vol. 8, No. 51


Two Different Abortion Pills: MAP and RU-486
By Joseph A. D'Agostino

Some people call RU-486 "the abortion pill," but in fact there are two
different abortion pills now widespread in America.  One is RU-486
(scientific name mifepristone), used in early pregnancy to induce
abortion, often in combination with another drug.  The other is the
morning-after pill (MAP), sold under the brand name Plan B and which is
simply a high-dose version of the standard oral contraceptive pill.  Both
kill unborn children, meaning that there are two abortion pills
exterminating children in our low-birthrate land.  And all this is
separate from the possibility that sometimes, the regular oral
contraceptive pill acts an abortifacient, too.

MAP must be taken within a few days--within 72 hours for the maximum
chance of effectiveness--after sexual relations to prevent or abort
pregnancy.  MAP's supporters including the mainstream media label it
"emergency contraception," but many of MAP's scientific supporters say
that MAP not only prevents fertilization, but can sometimes prevent the
implantation of an already fertilized egg.  Another name for a "fertilized
egg" is a "conceived child," a separate person with his own DNA and
pattern of growth.

This year, President Bush's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved
over-the-counter sales of MAP to those 18 and older, making an
abortifacient easily obtainable for adults--and their underage
girlfriends--in potentially every drugstore in the nation.  The FDA caved
in to feminist pressure after resisting for years, even though the FDA's
own experts warned that repeated use of MAP could have serious health
consequences for women.  As we have noted before, does anyone doubt that
many college-age women will use MAP over and over?  And given that
two-thirds of teen mothers have boyfriends 20 or older, can anyone
seriously doubt that men will buy MAP for their young girlfriends again
and again?  (Did you know that in our largest state, California, the
father of a 15-year-old's child is usually 21 or older?)

If MAP were still prescription-only, at least a doctor and pharmacist
would be there to put a check on repeated use and also steer young women
away from it who have health issues that could make even one use of MAP
dangerous.

As for RU-486, it's already been shown to be ten times as risky for a
woman than surgical abortion.  Feminists make a great show of concern for
women, but when it comes to a choice between killing as many children as
possible and safeguarding women's health, they always choose death.  Why
did feminists press for over-the-counter MAP when they know repeated use
could be seriously harmful?  Why do they continue to support RU-486,
though plenty of evidence including a study published in the New England
Journal of Medicine shows it to be far more dangerous for the aborting
mother than alternative forms of abortion?  The prestigious NEJM is not
known for pro-life sentiments, yet that study found RU-486 to be ten times
more likely to kill the women using it than surgical abortion in the early
months of pregnancy, the only time RU-486 is used.

The FDA officially rushed approval of RU-486 in the last few months of the
Clinton Administration, granting mifepristone an imprimatur under rules
reserved for desperately-needed life-saving drugs.  As the reports of
deaths and serious injuries from RU-486 have rolled in, Bush's FDA has
done nothing but talk about the health risks.

The advantage of RU-486 is that a trip to the abortion clinic is
unnecessary.  Any MD can prescribe it, helping make abortion even more
unsafe, legal, and common.  Over-the-counter MAP simplifies the process
even further.  Pay cash, and no one will ever know that you had
"unprotected" sex and then eliminated the natural consequence.  Both forms
of chemical abortifacient will likely become even more widespread in the
new year.


Joseph A. D'Agostino is Vice President for Communications at the
Population Research Institute.

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