Both Sides of The Controversial

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RU-486

• Both Sides of The Controversial
• Issue

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WHAT EXACTLY IS RU-486?

• RU-486 is actually a drug called mifepristone,
  which has recently been approved for the
  termination of pregnancy in the United States.
• Mifepristone is used after the fertilized egg is
  implanted in the uterine lining.
• It may be used up to 7 weeks after a womans last
  period. The drug blocks progesterone which
  causes bleeding and the breakdown of the uterine
  lining.

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RU-486 APPROVED
The FDA approved RU-486 for sale in the
United States on September 28, 2000. This
development of a non-surgical abortion only added
fuel to a raging debate over a womans right to
have an abortion.
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How Many Doctor's Visits are Required?

• RU-486 requires a woman to visit her doctor
  three times.
• 1. The doctor must confirm the pregnancy and
  what stage the pregnancy is in. A woman receives
  counseling on the abortion procedure and is given
  three mifepristone pills.

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• 2. Two days later, the woman returns to take
  another type of medication. This drug, know as
  misoprostol begins the contractions of the
  uterus. This in turn results in the expelling of
  the embryo.

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• 3. The last visit takes place almost two weeks
  later. The woman must visit her doctor to make
  sure that the abortion has taken place
  (MifepristoneExpanding Womens Options)

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Why is this such a debated issue?

• PRO-CHOICE
• The people on this side of the debate and the
  website,www.prochoice .com, feel that RU-486
  continues to expand a womans right to choose
  issues regarding her reproductive health.

• PRO-LIFE
• The people on this side feel that the embryo or
  fetus has the right to life, and that life begins
  at conception. If this is true then abortion is
  the killing of a human life. It is not an issue
  of a womans right to choose, it is an issue of
  murder (Jasper.)

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Pro-LifeRU-486 More Abortions?

• Many people who support the right to life state
  that RU-486 will increase the number of
  abortions.
• According to Teresa Wagner of the Family
  Research Council, RU-486 will result in more
  abortions and therefore more dead babies and
  injured women (Jasper).
• Laura Echevarria of the National Right to Life
  Committee took the same stand. She stated that
  the approval of the drug will result in more
  abortions and new risks to women (Jasper).

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RU-486 Advocates Look to France

• Pro-choice advocates tell those who disapprove of
  the drug to look to Europe. RU-486 has accounted
  for one-third of all abortions in France though
  the total number of abortions in that country
  have not increased (Snell.) Not one woman has
  died from the use of the drug according to Vicki
  Saporta of the National Abortion Federation.

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The Killer Pill??

• Most of the evidence found suggests that
  pro-lifers think that life begins at conception.
  Therefore, RU-486 is not just the aborting of an
  embryo, it is the killing of a human life.
• A popular pro-life bumper sticker proclaims
  that abortion stops a beating heart. This is
  true. A baby has a heart beat as early as three
  weeks into development (Jasper.)

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More and Better Choices?

• The Feminist Majority Foundation is in support of
  a womans right to choose.
• The President of this organization, Eleanor
  Smeal called the approval of RU-486 a total
  victory for the U.S women. She also states that
  mifepristone will reframe the abortion debate by
  providing more and earlier accessmifepristone
  will lead to a decrease in clinic violence and an
  increase in womens privacy (Feminist Majority
  Foundation.)

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Other Uses for RU-486

• The Feminist Majority Foundation also contends
  that mifepristone has other medical uses. The
  approval of the drug will lead to much needed
  research on the use of mifepristone to treat
  ovarian cancer, endometriosis, and some types of
  breast cancers (Feminist Majority Foundation.)

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Side Effects

• Both sides agree that there are certain physical
  side effects associated with the pill. Some of
  them include very heavy bleeding, vomiting,
  dizziness, infection, and many others
  (Mifepristone Expanding Womens Options.)

• Pro-life advocates think that there will be many
  psychological side effects as well (Jasper)
• Pro-choice advocates think that the privacy
  provided by RU-486 will reduce psychological
  stress of abortion (Snell.)

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The Presidential Race and
Why this race matters
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Two Candidates Two Opinions

• Barbara Bush said in an recent interview on ABC,
  I dont think abortion should be in the national
  platform. Theres nothing a president can do
  about it anyway.
• SHE COULD NOT HAVE BEEN MORE WRONG!!!!!
• There are two candidates in the ongoing battle
  for the Presidency and either one could change
  the face of abortion law (Why This
  Presidential)

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Democrat

• Al Gores website (www.algore.com) states that
  Gore is a supporter of a womans right to choose
  and has opposed the gag rule. He also
  co-sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act to
  uphold Roe v. Wade.

Picture from official Al Gore Website
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Republican

• George W. Bushs website www.georgebush.com
• states that he is pro-life with exceptions in
  cases of incest, rape, and life of the mother.

Picture from official Bush website.
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What Can a President Do?

• Pro-Choice President
• Can
• Appoint pro-choice officials to cabinet level
  positions and to the Supreme Court
• Encourage new research in reproductive
  technologies
• Allow for the importation of new medical
  technologies in reproduction

• Anti-Choice President can
• Impose a gag order on family planning providers
• Refuse research on new uses of mifeprestone
• Name anti-choice officials to cabinet level
  positions and to the Supreme Court
• Refuse to allow importation of new medical
  technologies in reproduction

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The Controversy Will Continue

• As both sides continue the debate over abortion
  rights, and the right to life, the controversy
  will continue. Both make valid arguments for and
  against the use of RU-486. One side claims to
  care for the psychological and physical well
  being of the woman, and the other cares about her
  right to reproductive health. The issue over
  whether RU-486 is an option for you is a personal
  decision. With the approval of the RU_486, women
  now have a greater range of reproductive choice.
  But.

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• with the coming years, will that choice still be
  available? Which road will reproductive health
  take?

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Works Cited

• Abortion-Rights Leaders Fight FDA Limits on
  RU-486. Wall Street Journal. 13 June
• 2000 B6.
• Feminist Majority Foundation Declares Victory
  in 12-Year Campaign to Bring RU-486
• to the United States. US Newswire.
  Sept. 28, 2000.
•  
• FDA Adds Hurdles in Approval of Abortion Pill.
  New York Times. 08 June 2000
• A18.

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• Jasper, William F. Unleashing the Killer Pill.
  The New American. 6 Nov. 2000.
  http//www.thenewamerican.com/tna/2000 /11-06-200
  0/vo16no23_ru486_print.html (2 Dec.2000).
• Mifepristone Expanding Womens Options for
  Early Abortion. Planned Parenthood.
• 2000. http//www.plannedparenthood.org/library/
  ABORTION/Mif_fact.html (4 Dec. 2000).

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• Saporta, Vicki. FDA Approves the Early Option
  Pill (RU-486) For American Women. National
  Abortion Federation-The Voice
• of Abortion Providers. 28 Sept. 2000.
  http//www.prochoice.org/Media/0928200 0.htm. 4
  Dec. 2000.
• 
  
  
• Snell, Marilyn Berlin. Tempest in a Pill Box.
  Sierra Magazine. Sept. 2000 18.
•  
• Why This Presidential Race Matters.
  Reproductive Freedom News. February 2000 1.