At present, if a woman chooses to have an abortion, she almost always has a surgical procedure. However, a new French medication called RU 486 is now being used to bring about abortion in very early pregnancy. The abortion pill, as it is commonly called, has had a revolutionary effect on birth control, but has raised a lot of controversy by pro-life and anti-choice advocates since its creation in 1980. The moral debate on the use and legalization of Ru-486 is considered a very “hot” topic today.
In a woman's body, the natural hormone known as progesterone is essential for establishing and maintaining a pregnancy. RU 486 is the first of a new generation of birth control drugs called "anti- antiprogestins;” an antagonist of progesterone. It is administered in the form of two pills taken in the time span of two day
A new question has emerged as a result of these disputes: when does life begin? Pro-life and anti-choice advocates claim that life begins immediately upon conception, while pro-choice advocates contradict them with claims that life begins only at birth, or at the earliest a few months before (when the danger of abortion is too great). It is the general opinion however, that life begins around the third or fourth month of a pregnancy. This is an advantage for Ru-486, which can only be administered within the first 9 weeks of pregnancy. The pill is justified through claims that nine weeks is way too early for life to have begun. The truth behind these claims is nonetheless inconclusive, and there is still no way of knowing when exactly life does begin.
The moral dilemma presented by Ru-486 is a continued debate. There is
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