RU-486

[[File:Mifepristone.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Little pill of "horrors"]]{{abortion}}
'''RU-486''', or '''Mifepristone''', is a [[drug]] administered in the first 70 days of a [[pregnancy]] to induce [[abortion]]; it is often used as a two-drug protocol alongside Misoprostol (which is also used to treat stomach ulcers) for this purpose, producing the colloquial nickname '''abortion pill(s)''' or '''Plan C'''.<ref>Sarah McCammon (February 24, 2023). [https://www.npr.org/2023/02/24/1159075709/abortion-drug-mifepristone-misoprotol-texas-case "Why an ulcer drug could be the last option for many abortion patients"]. ''Morning Edition''. NPR.</ref><ref>Eleanor J. Bader (September 28, 2021). [https://progressive.org/latest/plan-c-abortion-more-accessible-bader-210928/ "Plan C Is Making Abortion More Accessible Nationwide"]. ''The Progressive''.</ref> The two-drug combination is also used to medically manage [[miscarriage|spontaneous miscarriages]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barnhart |first=Kurt |date=2020-09-12 |title=Medical management of miscarriage with mifepristone |url=https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(20)31789-X/fulltext |journal=The Lancet |language=English |volume=396 |issue=10253 |pages=737–739 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31789-X |issn=0140-6736 |pmid=32853558}}</ref><ref>Mara Gordon and Sarah McCammon (January 10, 2019). [https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/01/10/666957368/a-drug-that-eases-miscarriages-is-difficult-for-women-to-get "A Drug That Eases Miscarriages Is Difficult For Women To Get"]. ''Health Shots''. NPR.</ref> RU-486 can also be used to treat hypercortisolism (a hormone condition), symptomatic leiomyoma (uterine fibroids), and endometriosis.<ref> Sarah Jane Tribble (April 10, 2018). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/how-a-drugmaker-turned-the-abortion-pill-into-a-rare-disease-profit-machine/2018/04/10/af989610-3c9f-11e8-955b-7d2e19b79966_story.html "How A Drugmaker Turned The Abortion Pill Into A Rare-Disease Profit Machine"]. ''The Washington Post'' and Kaiser Health News. [https://archive.today/Ngsej (Archived)].</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Murji A, Whitaker L, Chow TL, Sobel ML | title = Selective progesterone receptor modulators (SPRMs) for uterine fibroids | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | volume = 2017 | issue = 4 | pages = CD010770 | date = April 2017 | pmid = 28444736 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD010770.pub2 | collaboration = Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group }}</ref>

Because it is a drug, because it does not require sedation and the "horror show" that the "Right to Life" groups suggest abortion clinics are, and because it can be taken without anyone knowing, many people in the anti-abortion movements around the [[United States|US]] and [[Europe]] feared that this drug would make abortion easy, and *gasp* [[slippery slope|then ''everyone'' would want one]].

After [[France]] proved the drug was successful in inducing abortions both consistently and safely, and so approved it for distribution, [[German]] anti-abortion groups pressured the German company to cease distribution of the drug. Roussel-Uclaf blocked the sale of RU-486 until the French minister of health ordered that it be provided, saying, [from the moment government approval for the drug was granted] "RU-486 has become the moral property of women, not just the property of the pharmaceutical industry."<ref>[http://www.linternaute.com/histoire/motcle/2805/a/1/1/ru_486.shtml "Le RU 486 est devenu la propriété morale des femmes, pas seulement la propriété de la société pharmaceutique."]</ref> Following a crackdown on abortion in [[Poland]], the state began testing the blood of women who experienced miscarriages in reportedly-successful attempts to find traces of abortion pills.<ref>Sushmitha Ramakrishnan (November 6, 2023). [https://www.dw.com/en/poland-a-hunt-for-traces-of-abortion-pills-in-womens-blood/a-67287124 "Poland: A hunt for traces of abortion pills in women's blood"]. ''Deutsche Welle''.</ref>

Due to fears for the safety of employees as well as safety associated with the drug manufacturing plant and the risk of intentional tampering with the drug coming from the plant, the US [[FDA|Food and Drug Administration]] did not provide the name of the manufacturer given a license to make RU-486. The "[[pro-life]]" groups pose such a threat that even today, the plant does not list the ''city'', let alone the address of its production line.<ref>{{wpa|Danco Laboratories||,}} the maker of the drug in the US.</ref>

==External links==
* {{wpa|Medication abortion}}
* [http://www.womenonweb.org/ Women on Web] run by the Women on Waves, provides RU-486 online for people who live in countries where abortion is illegal.
* [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK234199/ "A Political History of RU-486" (1991);] [https://repository.law.wisc.edu/s/uwlaw/media/49970 (PDF version)]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Abortion]]
[[Category:Chemicals]]
[[Category:Drugs]]
[[Category:Medicine]]

Categories: Abortion, Chemicals, Drugs, Medicine