Liberal senators accused of exaggerting the risks of abortion drug
A Federal Health Department report will be released this week advising the government as to the safety of the abortion drug RU486. Medical groups & the Democrats having been calling on a ban of the drug to be lifted and Senator Lyn Allison has said she is encouraged by the support of a significant number of MPs. It is claimed by some medical professionals that use of the abortion drug (termed medical abortion) is safer than surgical abortion and better available to women in remote areas. Having moved from opposing the abortion drug for moral and religious reasons, some Coalition Senators now claim the ban should continue on medical grounds, warning of the dangers for women in remote areas without ready access to surgical facilities. Within the medical community, some have maintained that the allegations of risk associated with RU486 are exaggerated. According to Scott Giltrap, Chairman of the National Association of Specialist Obstetricians & Gynecologists, health policy is being “modified by religious views in the government”. Caroline De Costa, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at James Cook University School of Medicine in Cairns, and author of a report analyzing the international experience with RU486, spoke with Sarah Greenlees earlier today.