Another Pill That Could Cause a Revolution

[ensho]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/opinion/01kristof.html?_r=1&th&emc=th


Could the decades-long global impasse over abortion worldwide be overcome — by little white pills costing less than $1 each?

That seems possible, for these pills are beginning to revolutionize abortion around the world, especially in poor countries. One result may be tens of thousands of women’s lives saved each year.

Five-sixths of abortions take place in developing countries, where poor sterilization and training often make the procedure dangerous. Up to 70,000 women die a year from complications of abortions, according to the World Health Organization.

But researchers are finding an alternative that is safe, cheap and very difficult for governments to restrict — misoprostol, a medication originally intended to prevent stomach ulcers.

“I feel like people must have felt when they discovered the nuclear bomb,” says Dr. Beverly Winikoff, president of Gynuity Health Projects, a nonprofit research institution on reproductive health. “This technology is world-shaking.”
-long snip-
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it IS world-shaking! super wonderful.

the article ended with: "As word spreads among women worldwide about what a few pills can do, it’s hard to see how politicians can stop this gynecological revolution."

[uncommon]

1. Misoprostol is widely available in the US - as it should be.

You can get it at Planned Parenthood and other clinics that provide abortion services.

It should be available to women worldwide, and hopefully it eventually will be.

HOWEVER, surgical abortion still needs to be available as the pill is not effective/safe after a certain point. This will help, but it isn't the be all end all.

[ensho]

yes, timing is everything

nt

[pipi_k]

2. Except for places

like Utah, which might seek to force ALL women who have suffered a miscarriage to test for the presence of this drug in their systems.

Dirty bastards.

My poor stepdaughter had a miscarriage on July 8th at about 11 weeks gestation. She and her hubby were devastated. I can't even imagine women/couples going through something like that, then having to PROVE they hadn't caused it.


Other than that sort of thing, I fully support anything that would make the whole thing (abortion) even a little less traumatic (and more private) for all concerned.

[uncommon]

4. That should never be legal --

I had a miscarriage several years ago and it was devastating. I can't imagine being put through something like that.

But that is exactly what will happen to women all over this country if the right gets their way.

[TBF]

15. Privacy.

Key word there - it amazes me that men think they can control a woman's body like this. You can be quite sure they'd make this legal if they were the ones to get pregnant.

[Me.]

3. Wow Oj Wpw!

[MattBaggins]

5. Devils advocate here

When will we hear of stories of women who wanted to be pregnant having this drug slipped to them.

"Medical abortion causes a miscarriage that is indistinguishable from a natural one."

"Indian companies are producing mifepristone and misoprostol in a big way, and blister packs with the combination of drugs can be purchased for less than $5 — and then shipped anywhere."

These statements give me pause.

[uncommon]

8. You have to take it in multiple doses and you get it from a doctor.

You can get all sorts of drugs on the internet and use them to hurt people. Doesn't mean they should not exist.

[Warpy]

9. It's really hard to slip most drugs to unwilling people

and these drugs are no exception, because people will taste the bitter, nasty flavor in their food or drink and spit it out.

However, yes, there will likely be boyfriends and husbands out there who will try and a few will use the pills the right way and succeed, especially if the woman is a drinker and too blasted to notice her food tastes like crap. Can you imagine what would happen to a child born into this situation, though?

Making abortion cheap and safe in the developing world is a great thing. Women with too many mouths to feed desperately need this. If there is some unintended fallout, it would be acceptable compared to the enormous good this has the potential of doing for the female half of the human race.

[uncommon]

10. Amen.

Good answer.

[ehrnst]

11. The potential for good must be weighed against the possible abuses.

Especially when the drug must be administered by a physician, which mitigates unwitting ingestion.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

12. do you pause similarly over Roofies? You know, date-rape drugs?

I suspect they are and will always be far more common than this possible but as yet unproven abuse of misoprostol.

I'll bet the young women assaulted in this way by men in a culture of "yeah, I'd hit that" will be relieved to have access to misoprostol.


Women's actual lives matter more than sentimental weeping over tragically imagined insults to the institution of Motherhood.

[TBF]

16. Why do you care?

You're not the one getting pregnant.

[kestrel91316]

19. So because of your paranoid fantasy women should instead be forced

to bear unwanted children??

[formercia]

6. I'm surprised we have not seen a 'Genocide' thread.

If you give them a pill to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, it's 'Genocide.' If you let them starve to death from overpopulation, it's ignored.

Give the women a Choice.

[ensho]

7. I like the phrase - "gynecological revolution."

nt

[NBachers]

20. I've gotta agree with that- "Gynecological Revolution" time is here- And you know it's right

[CaliforniaPeggy]

13. That is great news!

Recommend.

[orbitalman]

14. So when will we see it HERE?? nt

[uncommon]

17. It is already available in the United States from abortion providers.

[jeff47]

18. It already is. (nt)