RU-486 Risky Choice

To the editors:

A recent article on RU-486, a drug designed to induce abortion (News, "UHS Approves Abortion Pill," Feb. 7) does not sufficiently explain the opposition offered by Harvard Right to Life (HRL).

While HRL is opposed to all forms of abortion, we take particular exception to RU-486. This pill, like the surgical procedure, poses a host of risks to both the physical and psychological well-being of the mother. However, RU-486 causes unique problems in a college community.

According to FDA studies conducted in India, China and other nations where RU-486 is widely used, chemical abortions "caused more adverse events, particularly bleeding," than surgical abortions. Another FDA study involving a sample of American women found that cramping, vomiting and nausea were also increased.

The necessity of communal living also makes RU-486 particularly objectionable on a college campus. This chemical will make abortions less private and cause a woman's decision to adversely affect those who live around her. After all, living with a roommate who is in the process of miscarrying her fetus in a communal bathroom necessarily affects all of those around, and the private pain that is endured by the formerly-pregnant student is transmuted into a public concern.

We fear that insufficient counseling may lull students into a false sense of security and present RU-486 as a panacea, which it certainly is not.

Mike B. Jobbins '04