But some hospitals have stopped using misoprostol for obstetric purposes since its manufacturer, Searle, sent out a letter warning doctors not to give the drug to pregnant women. Since then, misoprostol has been pulled from about half of the nation's teaching hospitals, according to an informal poll by the New York University School of Medicine. Among the hospitals no longer using misoprostol is the prestigious Brigham and Women's in Boston, which is affiliated with Harvard University. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is protesting Searle's efforts to halt use of misoprostol. The group says randomized clinical trials have found that the drug is safe and effective when prescribed correctly.
Alternatives are less effective and have troublesome side effects, the group says.
Misoprostol was developed as an anti-ulcer drug. But it has become better known as the second drug in a regimen that causes an abortion. Patients take RU486, which prevents the uterus from supporting a pregnancy. Then they take misoprostol, which expels the contents of the uterus. Abortion opponents protested approval of the regimen, often called a medical abortion.