Volumne 5 No. 2
First study on early medical abortion
Terminating
early pregnancies with the two-drug combination of mifepristone (formerly
called RU 486) and misoprostol is safe and effective for American women.
These findings come from the first clinical trials
in the US. The trials, led by Population Council researchers, studied
this medical abortion method in many large medical centers in the nation.
"The findings confirm, in the United States with
our mix of women, that we have similar results to what was found in
European trials," says Ann Robbins, senior author of the New
England Journal of Medicine report on the safety and efficacy
of medical abortion.
A second paper, published by the Archives of Family Medicine,
approached the study from the standpoint of the method's acceptability.
The paper notes that -
* 96% of women who used the mifepristone-misoprostol
regimen would recommend it to others.
* 91% said they would choose it again.
Source: Population Briefs, Population Council,Volume 4, Number 2.
The St. Petersburg Times featured a
story on microbicides as alternatives to condoms in protecting women
from AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. The microbicide
is an inexpensive microbe-killing vaginal gel or cream that a woman
could apply without her partner's knowledge. "[It] would seem to
be a promising alternative to condom use, both in the US and abroad,"
said an expert from the Alliance for Mircobicide Development.