Mary C. Cardinale '02, who chairs the Gospel of Life Committee of the Catholic Students Association, said she hopes UHS will not offer the drug.

"I don't think UHS is going to jump on the bandwagon at this stage, or at least I hope not," she said.

Members of the group are considering writing a letter of protest to UHS if the decision is made to prescribe RU-486, and would like to see a card included in the first-year "Safety Kit" informing all students of the Health Services fee refund policy.

Some anti-abortion students said their views are directly influencing--and sometimes changing--the ballots they cast for the Nov. 7 presidential election.

"I don't agree with either candidate on every issue, but this is just paramount for me, particularly in view of the Supreme Court appointments," Cardinale said.

"I really don't like Bush, but I think I'll vote for him because of his views on abortion," said Michelle C. Baca '04, a anti-abortion student.

A number of Harvard's anti-abortion campaigners said they opposed the FDA's decision on medical as well as ethical grounds.

"This drug is not good from a medical point of view. It's deceptively easy. With a surgical abortion, at least the mother does not see the remains of the aborted child. This is a very gruesome process. The FDA did it for purely political reasons," said Melissa R. Moschella '02, president of the "Right to Life" student group.