The bottom line is that, even with RU-486, the fundamental, irreconcilable differences surrounding the abortion question remain. And both sides seem as irascible as ever. For those in the pro-life movement, an abortion still involves killing a human being. For those on the pro-choice side, any attempt to outlaw abortions still infringes on a woman's right to make her own moral decisions. RU-486 provides a valuable lesson for all of you dreamers out there who hope that science will rescue us from our inability to find a moral middle ground on abortion.
Technology can only resolve moral dilemmas if it renders the central question obsolete.
RU-486 resolves nothing. Whether you use a pill or you go under the knife, an abortion is still an abortion. The medical procedure was developed in France and has been available in Europe since 1988. The following year, President Bush banned importing RU-486 into the United States. President Clinton lifted that ban three days after taking office in 1993 and allowed the FDA to begin clinical testing.