I take it you're not pro-choice? :D

I am the poster child for Pro Choice. I agree with a womans right 1000% and make that my ONLY issue where I disagree strongly with my political affiliation. I even enjoy pestering abortion protester zelots. I just think (and have spoken with a couple OB's today) that the Canadian idea of putting RU486 in virtual Pez dispencers is very dangerous, and with out question will cause a great number of women serious harm. Though the drug is intended for use during the first 50 some odd days of a pregnantcy, the effects are the same right out to the 3rd trimester. I dont have an issue with abortion, that is between a woman and her god...I wish abortion never happend (I think we all do). But, if there are going to be abortions, they need to be safe and well educated processes for all the women involved.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

   

Actually, if George Bush and his gang of ultra conservatives on the hill had their way about banning abortion in the USA, these would be the impliments of choice for American women, not Canadian women.

So, in Canada is Abortion covered under the healthcare from the Govt? Not that I have a problem wiht it, just curious.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

"in Canada is Abortion covered under the healthcare from the Govt?"

Yes.

Wow, that shocks me...so no reason needed? You can just get one? I dont mean to start an internet fight here...seriously just curious. I would think that the god nuts would be batty over that.

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What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

I don't know that George Bush is in favor of banning abortion. He is in favor of the issue being decided democratically in the states.

It is amazing how well democracy can sort these things out so long as the judges don't get in the way.

I consider myself pretty strongly prolife, but I would have a hard time casting a vote for the kind of ban you seem to describe.

Funny how abortion is almost a non issue in England where policy was decided democratically. Here, it is tearing our electoral process and appointment process apart. Thank you Supreme Court.

I don't see why that would be surprising. It's a legal medical procedure and therefore covered. I think it's only those people who are Pro-Life that have a problem with it.

As for the morning-after pill, your assumption that they are handing it out like Pez is a huge exaggeration (of course, I'm pointing out the obvious). I really don't know that much about the medicine, but medicines such as this that are OTC are usually stored behind the pharmacist's counter. You have to ask the pharmacist for it - you can't just pick it up off the shelf and pay the clerk. Every time I've purchased something like this (for example, aspirin with codeine which is OTC here), the pharmacist speaks to you about the medicine to make sure you understand how to take it and what it's side-effects are. I think that's a proper way to deal with it.

I'm not sure what would happen if a 14 year old wanted to buy it, but that's another issue entirely.

Dawn

That's a very nice post, except that lenonogesrtrel is not the same thing as RU486, and it's not an abortion pill, it's designed to prevent the pregnacy from happening in the first place. It acts to prevent ovulation and fertilization, not to shed the uterine lining and the already fertilized egg. Levonogestrel is not a medical abortion measure.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

let me be the 3rd person (including the other thread) to point out that the drug that was legalized in Canada is levonorgestrel (better known as "Plan B", or the "morning after pill")... it is NOT RU486 (aka Mifepristone)

you might want to read the last few lines of this web page... if I'm reading it correctly, it's currently available without a prescription in 6 states.

http://www.go2planb.com/...ion/about/index.html

Is Plan B safe?

When used as directed, Plan B is safe for most women. There have been no serious complications associated with Plan B. Common side effects include nausea, abdominal pain, fatigue, headache, and menstrual changes. Women who are pregnant, have undiagnosed vaginal bleeding, or have an allergy to the product should not use Plan B. Plan B cannot terminate an established pregnancy. How effective is Plan B?

Taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, Plan B can, when used correctly, reduce the risk of pregnancy by 89 percent after a single act of unprotected sex. Effectiveness declines as the interval between intercourse and the start of treatment increases. Dosage and administration?

Each Plan B packet includes a single course of treatment and consists of two tablets; each tablet contains 0.75 mg levonorgestrel. The first tablet should be taken orally as soon as possible within 72 hours (three days) of unprotected intercourse. The second tablet must be taken 12 hours later. Plan B is not a substitute for routine methods of birth control. Plan B does not provide protection from HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) and other sexually transmitted infections. How important is the timing of treatment to efficacy?

The sooner Plan B is taken after unprotected intercourse, the more effective it is. Effectiveness of Plan B declines as the interval between intercourse and the start of treatment increases. The decline in efficacy from a delay in treatment is why a broad range of health professionals believe that barriers to more timely access to Plan B should be removed, including making the product broadly available without prescription. How does Plan B work (mechanism of action)?

Plan B is believed to act as an emergency contraceptive principally by preventing ovulation or fertilization (by altering tubal transport of sperm and/or ova). In addition, it may inhibit implantation by altering the endometrium. Plan B is not effective if a woman is pregnant. Plan B is a contraceptive and cannot terminate an established pregnancy. Will Plan B harm an unborn fetus?

There is no evidence that Plan B would harm a pregnant woman or a developing fetus if the product were accidentally taken during early pregnancy. Studies involving women who have inadvertently taken combined oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel during early pregnancy suggest that these drugs do not have an adverse effect on the fetus. Is Plan B the same as RU486 (abortion pill)?

No, Plan B is not an abortifacient. It is an emergency contraceptive and should not be confused with RU486 or any other abortifacient. Plan B is not effective if a woman is pregnant. Can pharmacists provide Plan B without a prescription?

Plan B is currently available by prescription only. However, emergency contraception is currently available in a limited number of pharmacies in six U.S. states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, and Washington State) without an advance prescription from a physician.

"He is in favor of the issue being decided democratically in the states. "


I'm not a personal advocate of abortion. I'd never recommend it if other options are available. I do have a cousin who had one when she was single and in her early 20's. She should have been more careful and it was her choice alone to go for the procedure.

However, I'm pro-choice as a realist and support full national medical access to the procedure based upon the fact that women do have unwanted pregancies and to take away the right to an abortion would bring back the coat hangers and illegal back street abortionists.

This is another tough issue, but it needs to be worked out democratically. To my knowledge, the US is the only country in which the issue is chronic disaster. That result is courtesy of Roe v. Wade.

I am pro life, but, if I were a legislator, I would be hard pressed to ban early term abortions. It would be a tough vote, but, presumably, legislators seek office in order to make decisions.

The issue was well on its way to being resolved before Roe, with NY, in particular, having already approved some abortion procedures. Instead, we get pnembras and nomination battles that paralyze the government.

All of this is fine, but it should be reitterated that canada did not approve a medical abortion drug for over the counter use. It approved the Plan B drug, which is not the same thing. It's basically a double shot of birth pill medicine.

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Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

Speaking of the devil:
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THE GUARDIAN , LONDON
Friday, Apr 22, 2005,Page 7

The US is trying to block the World Health Organization (WHO) from endorsing two abortion pills which could save the lives of some of the 68,000 women who die from unsafe practices in poor countries every year.

The WHO wants to put the pills on its essential medicines list, which constitutes official advice to all governments on the basic drugs their doctors should have available.

Last month, an expert committee met to consider a number of new drugs for inclusion on the list. For the first time they approved two pills, to be used in combination for the termination of early pregnancy, called Mifepristone and Misoprostol.

In poor countries where abortion is legal, doctors currently have no alternative to surgery.

The Guardian newspaper understands that the US Department of Health and Human Services has been lobbying the director-general's office at the WHO to block approval of the pills, in line with President George W. Bush's neoconservative stance on abortion.

While the availability of pills might make abortion easier and could increase the number choosing it, the experts want them listed to reduce the deaths and damage caused by surgery. Every year, 19 million women have unsafe abortions -- 18.5 million of those take place in developing countries.

An estimated 68,000 women die as a result of botched or unhygienic surgery, while many others suffer long-term damage, including sterility.

The WHO's own Department of Reproductive Health proposed the addition of the abortion pills to the list.

The risk of death from abortion in developing countries is 100 times higher than in countries such as the UK, where Mifepristone has been licensed since 1991.

The pills were licensed in the US in 2000.

The WHO committee recommended unanimously that the pills go on the essential medicines list. But although the director-general's approval is usually a formality and the changes are published within days, more than a month has now passed.

One committee member said that all the evidence on the risks and benefits of the pills had been on the WHO Web site for months.
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the Canadian idea of putting RU486 in virtual Pez dispencers is very dangerous, and with out question will cause a great number of women serious harm.

I don't think I have ever seen you show so much concern for anyone much less a Canadian!!! ;) You getting soft? ;)