February 27, 2001:
ACLU Action Update: Protect Access
to RU-486!
Dear Friends,
Senator Tim Hutchinson (R-AR) and Representative David Vitter (R-LA) have introduced legislation - S.251/H.R. 482 - that would severely curtail the use of Mifepristone (RU-486), which promises to provide an earlier, less invasive and safer alternative to surgical abortion, especially for women who live far from an abortion provider. The Hutchinson-Vitter legislation would create several new and unwarranted restrictions on the use of Mifepristone even though it has been proven to be a safe and effective drug.
The bill's sponsors argue that their intent is to protect the health of women, yet the FDA only approved Mifepristone after conducting a rigorous review of three complete phases of clinical trials over an eight-year period. Anti-choice legislators who are determined to chip away at a woman's right to choose should not be allowed to now obstruct this safe and private option for women.
Urge your Members of Congress to reject this attempt to inject anti-choice politics into medical decision making. Included below is contact information for Tennessee's senators and representatives (omitted for web). Be sure to include your home address when contacting your legislators, especially if you contact them by email. This confirms that you are a constituent.
Talking Points:
Support Access to RU-486
Mifepristone represents an important new reproductive health care option for American women. Yet the same anti-choice forces who have spent the past six years chipping away at a woman's right to choose one step at a time should not be allowed to rob women of this significant medical advancement.
Anti-choice politicians must not be allowed to block beneficial medical developments for women.
Mifepristone promises to give women, especially those who live far from an abortion provider, better access to a safe, private, and early option for ending a pregnancy. Additionally, researchers have identified many potential uses for mifepristone beyond pregnancy termination, including the treatment of breast cancer, endometriosis, glaucoma, meningioma, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer and other conditions.
Further restriction is not medically necessary.
In the last decade, more than half a million women in Europe have safely used mifepristone, as have thousands of American women in clinical trials. In 1996, the FDA declared the drug safe and effective for use as an early method of abortion. While the FDA imposed some restrictions on the drug in its final approval, it chose not to adopt the severe limitations in this bill.
Congress must not substitute its views for the judgments of medical experts at the FDA.
The FDA is an expert body charged with ensuring the integrity of the drug approval process. The FDA has made clear that the approval of mifepristone resulted from its careful evaluation of the medical evidence under strict scientific protocols. It is inappropriate for Congress to second-guess the considered judgments of medical experts.
Please contact your congressperson and make sure this bill does not wind up on President Bush's desk!
Many thanks!
Hedy Weinberg, Executive Director
