Do you agree with Health Canada approving the RU-486 abortion pill?
Drug has been available in France for more than 25 years
Health Canada has approved the abortion drug known as RU-486.
The drug has been available in France for more than 25 years and was approved for use in the United States in 2000. Women will need to get a prescription from a doctor to buy the drug.
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Tell us why you agree or disagree with Heath Canada's approval of the RU-486 abortion pill. Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
There are a number of views about the drug.
"We're absolutely thrilled," Jill Arkles, from the Sexual Health Centre in Saskatoon, told CBC News Thursday.
According to Arkles, some doctors in the province were already providing an alternative to surgical abortion, using a combination of an injection and medication to induce a miscarriage.
She called RU-486 a welcome advancement. The injection-and-tablet method can take up to five weeks to complete, and involve up to five medical appointments, while RU-486 is two pills taken a day or two apart.
"It's more cost-effective than other current medications that we're using, as well it requires less time overall," she said.
Another viewpoint was expressed by Alliance for Life which released a statement to said it was "deeply disappointed" and added the group is concerned about side effects and complications from the new drug.
Policy for physicians
The licensing body for doctors, the Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons, has a policy that applies when doctors are reluctant to provide treatment.
"The physician right now, under the college document, would be required to then say, 'I cannot do this, or I'm not prepared to do this, but I will refer you to another physician who is prepared to discuss that with you,'" the college's Bryan Salte said.