From: Anne Adams
Subject: Ru486

I have been absent for a while and apologize if you have 
already seen the wire about the first U.S. test of the abortion 
pill RU 486....

The abortion pill developed in France was "well-liked" and 
produced virtually no excessive side effects in women taking 
part in a small U.S. study, a researcher reported.

The results of tests on 16 American women at the University of 
Southern California Medical School in Los Angeles are 
consistent with larger studies conducted in France and elswhere 
on the drug, known as RU 486.

RU 486 has been shown to be safe and highly effective for 
aborting early pregnancies and has been made available in 
France and China and is expected to become available in Britain 
in 1991.

The drug has not been made available to American women or U.S. 
researchers outside of this team, and is not expected to be 
available anytime soon, due in part to the oppostion from 
anti-abortionists.

The drug, also known as Mifepristone and Mifgyne, works by 
blocking a hormone known as progesterone, which is needed to 
maintain a fertilized egg in the womb, essentially triggering a 
miscarriage.

Within 10 days of missing their periods, half the women took RU 
486 while the other half were given Tylenol without knowing 
what they were receiving. Four women in each froup turned out 
to be pregnant. RU 486 successfully aborted the pregnancy of 
three out of four of the pregnant women who took it -- an 
effectiveness comparable to previous studies. There were no 
medical complications and most of the women returned 
immediately to their usual activities.

Surprisingly, the women who took RU 486 were no more likely to 
experience cramps, heavy bleeding, nausea, vommiting or any 
other side effects than those who took Tylenol. "RU 486 is 
really innocuous, it turns out the drug is about as noxious as 
a couple of Tylenol".

Needless to say, the women preferred the drug for its privacy, 
ease and the lack of surgical instruments.