Obtain repeat prostaglandin injections in 20 percent of patients. Obtain surgical abortion on those in whom both drugs are ineffective. Undergo ultrasound examination several days later to make sure all parts of the unborn child have been expelled. In 5 to 10 percent of cases another admission to the hospital will be necessary to control and treat excessive hemorrhage. Bleeding occurs in over 90 percent of women taking RU-486.
Nobody believes that the use of prostaglandins is safe and innocuous.
These are highly active biological compounds which have marked cardiovascular actions requiring close supervision. There is a statement prepared by a joint committee of the French Republic signed by the Director of General Health, the Director of Hospitals and the Director of Pharmacy and Medicine 2 . What this says, in effect, is that prostaglandins be given only in what amounts to an Intensive Care Unit. This communication, which was sent to all physicians and hospitals in France, followed a fatal cardiac reaction to prostaglandins in a woman who had received the drug after RU-486. It is difficult to sustain the notion of safety against the background of such warnings.