Abortion Pills are Not 'Essential Medicines'

The Bush administration has been working in recent months to ensure that the drugs mifepristone (aka RU-486) and misoprostol, which are used to end early-term pregnancies, are kept off the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. According to the WHO, a medicine is considered essential if it satisfies "the priority health care needs of the population." Once a medicine is designated to be essential, efforts are stepped up to ease access and widen distribution.

Abortion is certainly not a priority health care need, and these drugs absolutely do not belong on the List. Inclusion of misoprostol and mifepristone on the List of Essential Medicines would be not only morally and ethically unacceptable, but also scientifically irresponsible. Very serious health risks attend use of these abortifacients, and in response to reports of the long-term ills and even deaths that have resulted from its use, the FDA issued a new warning regarding RU-486 last November.

Abortion advocates such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation and its allies have started a campaign to lobby Dr. Lee Jong-Wook, Director-General of the WHO, to include mifepristone and misoprostol on the List. To counteract their wrong-headed efforts, the WHO needs to hear from you. Tell Dr. Lee that you don't want to see these drugs on the List of Essential Medicines.
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