The number of prescriptions issued for mifepristone (RU-486), the “abortion pill” introduced in the US 2 years ago, is increasing more rapidly than expected, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) says.
According to the federation, use has nearly doubled in the past 2 years. During 2001, 12 712 women received mifepristone at PPFA sites; in the first half of 2002, 11 452 women opted for the drug instead of having a medical procedure.
In 2000, the US approved the use of mifepristone and a prostaglandin to end pregnancies up to 49 days after the onset of a woman's last menstrual period. It entered the market in November 2000 (CMAJ 2001;164[1]:82). Since then about 2.6 million American women have had abortions, and in about half those cases mifepristone could have been used.
It could take time for mifepristone use to become common, but a recent study (www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals /3415402) found that more than half of early abortions in France, Scotland and Sweden are now done via RU-486 rather than a medical procedure.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada hopes mifepristone becomes widely available here too, but Executive Director Linda Capperauld says no drug company has sought marketing approval. A Toronto pilot project was “very successful.”
The PPFA says the success of the new method is important because “the lack of abortion providers is an acute problem in the United States.” — Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ