Canada approves abortion pill known as RU

The use of the abortion drug RU-486 has been approved by the Health Canada.

But Jim Hughes, national president of Campaign Life Coalition, a Canadian group opposed to abortion access, said: “RU-486 is a human pesticide which kills the pre-born child and harms women”.

The drug can be used within the first nine weeks of a pregnancy.

The Notice of Compliance indicates that Mifegymiso (mifepristone and misoprostol) has met Health Canada’s regulatory requirements for safety, efficacy and quality and can now be prescribed for medical abortions.

Controversial abortion drug RU-486 might be coming to Canada, but whether you get your hands on it will be left up to a doctor. The former blocks production of the hormone progesterone, needed to sustain a pregnancy. Both mifepristone and misoprostol are included in the World Health Organization’s Model List of Essential Medicines.

Mifepristone, or RU 486, was approved in the United States back in 2000.

Prof. Ashley Waddington, a family planning expert at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., praised Health Canada’s decision to approve the abortion pill. The latter prompts the uterus to contract and expel the placenta and the fetus.

According to its manufacturer, Linepharma worldwide Limited, the pill will be distributed by Celopharma Inc. with commercial availability expected in January 2016.

Vicki Saporta, CEO of the National Abortion Federation and its Canadian offshoot, NAF Canada, has said the drug probably won’t be available in Canada until early next year.

After reviewing this drug for over the last five years, pharmacology evidence found that it safely and efficiently induces contractions that will lead to the termination of a pregnancy.

Saporta said initially the drug will probably only be available through health-care professionals who already provide abortion services.

A doctor’s prescription will be required for women to obtain the drug, which is normally effective up to 70 days into a pregnancy. Previously unavailable here, Mifepristone has just received approval from Health Canada.