Abortion PILL RU-486 approved by FDA!

Page 3 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Ornery

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,022
17
81
When the Unborn Doesn't Go Quietly to His Execution

"...And then everybody takes it seriously, and they call the pediatrician, and I'm supposed to fix it, or get rid of it." With anger in his voice, he went on, "Some lawyers will fight for the right for the mother to do whatever she wants to with her body, but watch out for what they do when abortions aren't so neat and tidy!!! A failed homicide -- oops! Then all of a sudden everybody cares, and it's turned from a 'right' into a 'liability' that someone is blamed for!"

 

Spoooon

Lifer
Mar 3, 2000
11,565
202
106
That was a sad story. It only serves to reinforce the message that abortion isn't a step taken lightly and should never be a matter of "convenience". However, with the approval of RU-486, the situation described in Ornery's post can be avoided.

"A synthetic steroid, mifepristone interferes with a fertilized egg's ability to adhere to the lining of the uterus. To cause abortion, it is used early in pregnancy with another drug, misoprostol, which prompts uterine contractions."

"A very small percentage of patients need additional surgery or blood transfusions. For most, the process is over in a few hours -- a week at most. Side effects include uterine cramping, heavy bleeding, nausea and fatigue."

"The FDA said bleeding and spotting typically last for about nine to 16 days. It can be so heavy in about one of 100 women, that a surgical procedure would be required to stop the bleeding, the agency said."

The quoted side effects hardly sound like this will ever be a "convenient" choice. Since the pill can only be obtained via prescription, I doubt that it will be abused.

"In more than a decade, researchers in France have found that the pill has not replaced surgery as the most common method of abortion. It also has not increased the number of abortions."

All in all, I think the approval of RU-486 is a good thing. Perhaps now, late term abortions will slowly be eliminated.

edit: And I'm all for "69" ;)
 

jhu

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
11,918
9
81
you know, a lot people shouldn't even be having children in the first place. so if ru-486 is cheap enough then it's a good thing.
 

403Forbidden

Banned
May 4, 2000
2,268
0
0
Pro Choice!!!!

Anti death penalty!!


hahaha I'm sure all you right-wing conservative wackos will like that one.
 

reitz

Elite Member
Oct 11, 1999
3,878
2
76
Sad, just sad.

I really should no better than to open a thread like this.
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
I think I'm going to write the date & time down, for a small miracle has happened: I agree with chess9. Or maybe he agrees with me. ;)

One way or another, I have a few comments to make...

Often they don't have the choice - as in rape. - Toolgirl

The word I object to here is "often." How "often" do you really, truly hear of women who got pregnant from rape? How "often" are they just too lazy to accept the consequences of what they did? This is summarized perfectly by woodie1: Let the good times roll.

Sex is not necessary for life, believe it or not. There are millions of people who get along just fine without it. Do they want it? Probably. Do they need it to survive? Absolutely not. Sex has two purposes, which are mutually inclusive:

1) An enjoyable activity for couples to engage in, & one that brings them close physically, emotionally, & spiritually.
2) For procreation.

Unfortunately for the Pro Choice people, the two are inseperable. There's no switch on your equipment to choose "Pleasure" or "Business" before screwing whoever it is you're screwing. By taking the pleasure & joy of purpose #1, you've inherently accepted the responsibility of purpose #2. The fact of life is that sex makes babies. It's an incredible process, not something to be taken lightly. Granted, we have ways to prevent pregnancy from ever happening in the first place. Birth control is a wonderful thing, allowing people to engage in sex with very little fear of pregnancy. But birth control isn't perfect. I'm living proof of that. My mother was on birth control when I was conceived. (No, I didn't really want to know that, but I do. ;)) What it really comes down to is if you're having sex, you're liable for the outcome. If, for whatever reason, you don't want a child right now... DON'T HAVE SEX!

OK, now let's say you've ignored the last sentence, & you ARE pregnant. We'll assume that you had sex willingly, enjoyed every minute of it, but are now regretting this baby that you're carrying. Guess what? That's your responsibility. As people, we hate responsibility. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions. What's that you say? You don't want to accept the responsibility either? Did you not understand the deal ahead of time? You were well aware of the possibilities, and you accepted the deal the moment you took off your clothes.

For all you Pro Choice people... You do have a choice. The same choice everyone else has. Guys, keep it in your pants. Girls, keep your legs together. Then there wouldn't be a problem.

Viper GTS
 

DABANSHEE

Banned
Dec 8, 1999
2,355
0
0
Fact is probabably 99% of the time that pill is taken it just stop fertlisation ocurring, rather than bringing on a termination (at that early stage its just an embryo, as in just multiplying cells, so its a termination not an abortion - the turm 'Abortion pill' was coined by religious nuts).

If you study your facts Viper, Dragon & Freak, you'd realise that except for the odd rare circumstance (where its not taken withing a couple of days of intercourse) all this tablet is going to do is decrease the amount of unwanted fertilisations.

Really its about time.
 

SCUBA

Senior member
Jul 21, 2000
555
0
0
am with the pill coz if a baby lives for such parents he ill live a very very bad life
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
Read my post again, DABANSHEE. Did I ever make any reference to the specific act of killing the baby? My post was about accepting the responsibility of what you did.

Also, from dictionary.com:

ter·mi·na·tion (tûrm-nshn)
n. Abbr. term.

The act of terminating or the condition of being terminated.

1) The end of something in time; the conclusion.
2) An end of something in space; a limit or an edge.
3) A result; an outcome.
4) Linguistics. The end of a word, as an inflectional ending, a suffix, or a final morpheme.

And...

a·bor·tion (-bôrshn)
n.

1) Induced termination of pregnancy and expulsion of an embryo or fetus that is incapable of survival.
2) A miscarriage.
3) Cessation of normal growth, especially of an organ or other body part, prior to full development or maturation.
4) An aborted organism.
5) Something malformed or incompletely developed; a monstrosity.

Now would you care to explain to me what the difference between the two is? You said yoruself that the "embryo" is "just multiplying cells." Those cells are multiplying on their own. That's a life form. Normally, it would then fasten itself to the wall of the uterus & continue to grow. By preventing it from doing that, you have terminated/aborted it. The fertilization took place PRIOR to the attempted fastening to the uterus wall.

The term "abortion pill" may have been coined by "religous nuts," as you so fondly refer to them, but you've got to admit... That's exactly what it is. No matter what you'd like to call it, that's calling it what it really is.

Try studying your own facts, & reading posts more carefully.

Viper GTS
 

hopster

Senior member
Dec 5, 1999
366
0
0
First off, there are simply too many reasons why the right of choice needs to be maintained.

I have to maintain the scientific approach and that being said I simply do not consider a cluster of cells that look like a bunch of goo hanging off someone's nose to be a human baby. I believe that it has the biologic potential to be a human baby simply given it's DNA and given time, but early on there just is no baby there... sorry. It has POTENTIAL, but it is not yet. Given that nothing interupts it (many things can), and given lots of luck (yes, often it comes down to LUCK of the draw) it could someday be a baby. . So, in the end, I believe the only real question out there is WHERE DO WE DRAW THE LINE??? THAT being said, I think late term abortions are a sad and disturbing thing. The only reason for such should be for serious medical concerns for the mother. Where we draw the line, I am afraid, will be debated for as long as human beings walk this earth.

 

Eli

Super Moderator | Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
50,422
8
81
Well said, Viper.

Dabanshee- See what I said about Str8UpKiller. That mentality you have is disgustingly sick.

I agree, that it's better than the other methods of abortion. But it's still abortion; the idea of which is a result of our society's downfall, imho.

 

thebestMAX

Diamond Member
Sep 14, 2000
7,487
121
106
CHESS9

Well, I know at least someone read my post. Now, please REREAD it. I think I said a Zygote was alive. Is a sperm cell alive or an ovum? Alive or not, what difference does it make if there is no intelligence?

This is another issue that will never be settled. Every person has his own opinion and is entitled to it. Just dont try to force your opinion on other people. (Not you in particular Chess).

BobberFett said it best, Here come the villagers with the torches and pitchforks.

human nature. If you dont understand something you fear it or try to destroy it or worship it.
 

Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
72,432
6,090
126
Viper, you talk as though responsibility is suspended the moment of intercourse. Is it not responsible to prevent an unwanted pregnancy? What the world needs, of course is more unwanted, uncared for children. Make those juveniles pay for years and years for their moment of pleasure. Right! Good idea. That will teach them. You don't need sex! HAHAHA Tell that to the billions.

When there is a conflict between what seems religiously right and what seems practically right, there may needs arise a revolution of thought. How is it that what seems to be religiously right, that a zygote is a human, can lead to species extinction if carried to logical extreme. Naturally crunch day isn't here yet; how about the point of no return? Resolution, it seems to me, has to lie in differentiating between what is potential and what is fully realized. What is most precious, I would think, is self awareness. To equate ones personal self awareness with the potential self awareness of the a zygote may lead to a logical trap from which there is no escape. One aspect of this trap is the conclusion that you have a right to judge for others what they should do based solely on your own unshakable water-tight, emotional illusion.

This illusion holds real power. I will never get an abortion. I never caused an unwanted pregnancy. I try to set an example of responsibility. I see no right, however, to go any farther than that.

 

Yeeny

Lifer
Feb 2, 2000
10,848
2
0
I am against abortion, and I don't like the idea of this pill at all. But I try to stay off my soapbox when it comes to others, and the judgement calls they make. All I can do is stick to my beliefs for myself. I will never have one, and never help anyone else have one. I believe in taking responsibility for your own mistakes, I took it for mine when I was 17. On the other hand, if somebody needs help with a child, I am there 100%. The one thing that always struck me about so many (not all) other Right To Lifers is they are the same ones that will condemn an unwed mother.

Ornery: That story brought tears to my eyes. That is the most upsetting thing about abortion, people think you have one, and you forget. Most women suffer for years afterwards, always wondering, what if? It's not just a trip to the doctors, and it's gone. Those effects can haunt you the rest of your life.
 

Str8UpKiller

Senior member
May 17, 2000
239
0
0
The anti choice right wings are simply wrong. I just can't see where they are coming from wanting to control and manipulate other peoples lives. I also don't see how they can call the RU-486 pill a murderous weapon which it very simply is not. Your body gets rid of unwanted cells all the time.

I suppose we should ban all antibiotics too. After all we don't want to "murder" any more lifeforms. Isn't that all what it comes down to everytime with abortion? The issue of murder? It's never the issue of the right to choose but that murder is wrong, bottom line.

What makes a human zygote anymore important then any other cellular cluster anywhere? Would you be able to recognize the difference between a fertalized egg and a emerging cancerous tumor? Couldn't you say they both are "living" and are from human DNA?

Bottom line is people shouldn't be having kids in today's society anyways. Overpopulation is rampant and only getting worse. Anything to curb this overpopulation is favorable to me.
 

DABANSHEE

Banned
Dec 8, 1999
2,355
0
0
But the fact is, if taken within a day or 2 of intercourse it actually works by stopping fertilisation occurring in the 1st place.

BTW, in the medical field (maybe not in 'religious nut' America) when a Embryo is removed its referred to as a termination, & when a fetus is removed its referred to as a abortion. Look it up in the Oxford Medical dictionary, it comes from a place where the kings English is spoken.

"Those cells are multiplying on their own. That's a life form"

So by you definition then, Viper, a cancer is a life form then, & its murder to use radiation theropy to kill it. Or its murder to remove the tumur from the body.
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
DABANSHEE...

That's a human life. Or, if you don't think it is... At one point does it become human? The first time it's heart beats? The first time it breathes air into its lungs? There is continuous growth from the moment of conception of a human life. That's quite a bit different from cancer.

But, you might argue, if the mother doesn't want the child it might as well be cancer.

Well, let's take a look at this:

Cancer is invasive. The baby stays relatively put.
Cancer destroys the body for it's own advancement. The baby establishes itself as a separate entity, & grows accordingly. It has no need to destroy the mother to further it's growth.
Cancer will grow indefinitely, robbing the body of more & more of it's resources. The baby reaches a point in it's growth cycle where it leaves the womb, & receives nourishment elsewhere.
Cancer will eventually result in the death of the organism, promoting the destruction of a species. The baby promotes the growth and continuation of a species.

How about we compare you to cancer? Or would you find that a little uncomfortable? Perhaps we should start a thread on the pros & cons of irradiating DABANSHEE. Some people don't want you, so wouldn't that be acceptable to you?

As for this statement:

But the fact is, if taken within a day or 2 of intercourse it actually works by stopping fertilisation occurring.

If taken after that time period, though, it disconnects the placenta from the wall of the uterus, thus isolating the developing baby from it's only source of life - it's mother.

I honestly hope you don't believe what you spew here.

Viper GTS
 

DABANSHEE

Banned
Dec 8, 1999
2,355
0
0
Ooooh Viper, why do you care so much about such a non issue (it may seem a big issue in the US, but its a non issue everywhere else).

How does it effect you if some 16 year old in Danville poped one of those pills, or if if some 34 year old Junkie in Cleveland poped one of those pills? All that would happen would be less of your tax money would be wasted on bring up some poor scrote, & less of the world resourses would be wasted on supporting another western consumer. Any way its not as if they are going to 'terminate' any of your friends or relatives, as they are all already born. Even if you get some 15 year old girl pregnant in the shed behind your church one sunday, & she terminated the 'fertilised cells', you can always get her or someone else pregnant later if you were desperate for a child. You could even plan the pregnancy together, so you don't even have to worry about such an eventuality arising. Consequently its not your problem, so mind your own business

Now you may think the girls doing it are commiting murder & its a sin. But so what. Do you want them to go to jail for it, & waste more of your tax dollars (when one is against something, they must consider the alternatives). Then when they get out they'l be real screwed up & hating society, are you willing to pay the cost of all that. Why don't you just quit worring about it & let god worry about it, surelly if its a sin, he/she will punish them.

Fact is there will always be unwanted pregnancies occuring. Saying things like "What it really comes down to is if you're having sex, you're liable for the outcome. If, for whatever reason, you don't want a child right now... DON'T HAVE SEX!" doesn't stop unwanted pregnancies from ocurring. Even adoption isnt much of an answer - because the fact is kids who were adopted/fostered out are much more likely to end up alcoholic/addicted & institutionalised (Detox/rehab/jail) by a factor of 10 or something, because they grow up with feelings of abandendment & end up hating the world because mum rejected them. Sure plenty of adopties/foster kids turn out all right, but the odds of them getting screwed up are hell of a lot higher.

If you want to go to see what the results of a no abortion policy is, go to Romania. Where Cescescue banned abortions because he wanted plenty of soldiers & a big army, & that was the best way of doing. Consequently every unwanted kid was dumped in a orphanege. During that period when contraceptives & abortion was banned, just about every married couple just dumped there kids in orphaneges once they already had 2 or 3 kids. Life wasnt worth living in those orphaneges anyway. as they got older they started killing themselves & Romania ended up with the highest suicide rate in the world for under tens.

So stop worring, its none of your business (unless your own actions result in a unwanted pregnancy, but no one's forcing you to take the pill anyway), if its wrong god will punish the aborters anyway.
 

Recneps

Senior member
Jul 2, 2000
232
0
0
What makes a human ball of cells that can't think or surive with out being a periste in another person body any more important then some virus living in on of your cells? Life beings at fretilaztion but that doesn't mean that the cell can live with out being a pariste.

It doesn't matter if Abortion is right or wroung. What are you going to do with all those unwanted kids? and the mothers that don't want the badys? Is it better to have a 16 year old girl have a bady drop out of school and force her parents to help out with their grandchild and the child life would suck growing up in proverity because the mother was unable to go to school and collage and she would need up work 60 hours a week at McDonalds or would it be better to give the girl a pill and let her get on with her life?