ailing what the drug does, who should not take it and what kind of side effects occur. Treatment involves three doctor visits. At the first the women swallows three tablets. The drug then interrupts pregnancy by blocking the action of a natural hormone that prepares the lining of the uterus for a fertilized egg and then maintains the pregnancy. At the second visit the women swallows two tablets of an oral prostaglandin, which induces uterine contraction to expel the fertilized egg. After two weeks the women return for a follow-up visit to confirm that the abortion is complete. " I think it will be a great benefit to women", said Dr. Stanley Henshew, a senior fellow at Guttmacher Institute. Nearly nine out of ten women who live outside of a major metropolitan area have no close access to abortion services, and the availability of mifepristone will change that, he said. "Some people assume that women will now be more promiscuous and not practice safe sex as much because of the availability of RU-486, but researchers has found that not be the case," said Dr. Yvonne, a gynecologist at St. Luke's Hospital in New York. " When women have an unplanned pregnancy, they are not happy about it. It is a very somber time."But, the morning pill has many disadvantages too. Macomb along with Oakland and Wayne health departments, have kept the politically sensitive drug at arm's length since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Preven 11 months ago. The counties refusal to prescribe the drug makes it more difficult for some women, especially the poor to get it. The refusal of county offices to provide the drug has sparked outrage at Planned Parenthood and the Civil Liberties Union, both of which argue the policy which hurts poor women. The pills are not the same as RU-486, the French abortion pill, which can end pregnancies about a month after they begin. Morning after pills delay or prevent ovulation, meaning no egg enters the uterus to be fe...
