It has been used in Britain since 1991 and Sweden since 1992. Last year it became available in Israel and throughout the countries of the European Union with the exception of Ireland, Italy and Portugal. In Europe, the availability of RU-486 has not led to more abortions, as opponents of it in the U.S. have warned. Nor has it become more popular than surgical abortions. In France, the abortion rate fell to 12.4 per 1,000 women of reproductive age in the mid-1990s, from 13.4 just before the drug was introduced in 1989, according to the World Health Organization.
Doctors say the pill is statistically as effective as surgical abortion but less invasive.
Still, they add, it is not as popular as the surgical procedure because it is not simple to use. RU-486 works by blocking progesterone, a hormone necessary to sustain pregnancy. A second dose of medication, prostaglandin, contracts the uterus and expels the fetal tissue. In France, it can only be prescribed in the first 49 days after a woman has had her last menstrual period, the same length of time that American doctors will be allowed to prescribe it. In Britain, the limit is 63 days.