A Canadian Perspective on Mifepristone (RU-486) and Abortion Services

The provision of safe abortion services remains a worldwide problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that in 2008 there were approximately 22 million unsafe abortions. In an era when women are increasingly able to make their own decisions, Canada will soon have the only medication for first-trimester abortions recommended by the WHO available. Medical abortion allows women to induce an early abortion through the use of drugs rather than undergoing suction aspiration or a dilation and curettage (D & C). In order to be eligible, patients must be certain they want termination, be less than 9 weeks gestational age, be able to understand instructions and follow-up, and willing to have a D & C if required. This would allow for improvements from the perspective of both the patient and physician; an effective medical option would provide more patient-centred care whereby women can regain some control and privacy for their decisions and providers can redistribute their operating room time to be utilized for other surgeries. The hope is that Canada can uneventfully join the majority of the developed world by implementing use of this useful drug.