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The FRENCH PILL ENDS PREGNANCY BY ABORTION

The drug, a French produced steroid called RU 486, still is years away from
approval for sale in the UNITED STATES. But decisions in Washington and in
corporate board rooms in the coming months may determine whether it ever
becomes available here.  The drug prevents a fertilized egg from implanting
itself in a women's uterus and dislodges any embryo implanted. Tests in
France have found it 85% effective during the first 10 days of pregnancy.
Some promoters see RU 486 as a once-a-month postcoital contraceptive. In
theory those taking this pill would never know if they had been pregnant or
not.

Implications go beyond medical questions. Some pro-abortionists see
potential for defusing abortion as a political issue by enabling women to
halt pregnancy in privacy of their homes away from public glare and
emotional trama of surgical clinics. Anti-Abortion groups concede that with
no more horrifying images of aborted fetuses, their campaigns will lose
emotional impact. They promise a vocal and vigorous protest both in
Washington and in the marketplace against what they call the "death pill".
Their first move is an attempt in Congress this summer to stop the Food and
Drug Administration from authorizing tests on the drugh. Federal law
already bans U.S. funded research on abortion. But private testing is
permitted, with FDA approval. In one FDA-sanctioned study at the University
of Southern California, 200 pregnant women were given the drug. That test
proved 70% effective. Pro-abortionist are confident of heading off
congressional moves to tie the FDA's hands. They plan to go a step further
and seek to lift restrictions on federal research on abortion. So far, U.S.
drug firms show little interest in RU 486. Fear of product-liability
lawsuits and consumer boycotts by "right-to-life" groups has them on edge.
(from U.S. News & World Report, June 1, 1987 pg 31)

Stay informed fellow believer. Act upon your convictions!

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