Third World birth control--is it abortion? Drug combination gains support as alternative to surgical abortion

Drugs that induce miscarriage may eventually replace traditional surgical abortions in the first three months of pregnancy. In particular, a panel that recently evaluated international drug tests, determined that a specific two-drug combination was safe and effective when used early in pregnancy. The combination included a relatively new compound called RU 486 that induced abortions and has been tested in Europe as a 'morning after' pill. The other drug, prostaglandin, is older, and already on the market. The new twist is that together the drugs can be used as low doses that cause few side-effects, and that in combination, they have approximately a 95 percent success rate in causing abortion during the first three months of pregnancy. Should women be denied this new birth control option on social rather than medical grounds? In most countries cultural, religious and legal considerations will inevitably influence the decision on whether or not to approve RU 486. Concern for women's reproductive health should also be a factor. Moreover, politics should not infringe on sound medical practice, nor should access to a major medical advance be restricted purely on the basis of an emotional debate.