Barbara Sibbald
Extract
After 17 years of debate, mifepristone (RU 486), the controversial pill that induces early abortion, is for sale in the US. The drug’s Canadian proponents hope this country will soon follow suit. . . . The SOGC passed a resolution in 1992 supporting the “legal availability” of antiprogesterone steroids such as mifepristone in order to give “Canadian women access to treatment of proven efficacy.” Lalonde says withholding approval is an “insult to women — they’re being treated like babies, being refused access to this and that when it comes to their health.” Not everyone is as enthusiastic. Mary Ellen Douglas, national organizer for Canada’s Campaign Life Coalition (www.lifesite.net), told CMAJ: “The result of taking this pill is a dead baby, and that’s certainly not a drug we need here.”
Sibbald B. Will Canada follow US lead on RU486?. Can Med Assoc J. 2001 Jan 09;164(1):82.