As of this fall, Canadian physicians will be able to prescribe an abortion pill for women to take at home. On July 1, Health Canada agreed to allow doctors to prescribe the abortion pill – commonly referred to as RU-486 – to expectant mothers, CBC News reported.
Many Canadian doctors have concerns about safely prescribing the drug, claiming that rules made by Health Canada will only complicate the process for patients, according to the report. Currently, the rules mandate that the doctor completes an online training course about the drug before being able to prescribe it. In addition, the doctor must give the drug directly to the patient, rather than just referring them to a pharmacy. According to some doctors, these rules only succeed in making the drug less accessible.
Dr. Wendy Norman of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada spoke regarding the issue, “Most family physicians we’ve spoken to don’t have any mechanism to sell drugs to their patients.”
Norman continued, “You also need to buy, stock, store and maintain a stock — that is, recognize when something’s about to be out of date and change it over. And this is outside the expertise of physicians. We don’t have training in this, speaking as a family doctor myself.”
Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott addressed the concerns in an interview with CBC News: “We are committed to making sure that this medication is accessible. But with any medication, particularly new ones, it is important that the prescribers have the appropriate competence, that they are well-informed as to the nature of the medication, and what it’s effectively to be used for, what concerns to watch out for.”
Philpott also explained that restrictions on distributing the pill may change.
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“They can always be adjusted along the way with appropriate evidence and reassurance that the system is functioning appropriately, she said. We have to balance accessibility with making sure patients are safe, and these medications that do have some concerns to make sure they are taken safely, and that no unnecessary harm will be done.”
Although abortion advocates argue that the Canadian rules regarding RU-486 are restrictive, they are in place to protect the patient. The abortion drug is responsible for the deaths of dozens of women worldwide, including several in the United States alone, and it has injured at least 1,100 women in the United States alone as of 2006 figures from the Food and Drug Administration.
LifeNews recently reported that Planned Parenthood’s misuse of the pill has been linked to the deaths of several patients. Endangering the life of the patient isn’t progress for reproductive health, it’s carelessness.
