Problems shown with the abortion pill
| Published 11/19/04

Graphic by: Doni Neel

With all the contraceptives available, some are destined to cause problems. The abortion pill RU-486 has recently caused three deaths to young women looking for a way out of pregnancy. RU-486 is not the same as the Emergency Contraception Pill (ECP), which is also known as the morning after pill.

The RU-486 is different from the ECP due to the fact that the pregnancy is farther along, and the patient waited longer to terminate the pregnancy. The latest death linked to RU-486 was Holly Patterson, who died on Sept. 17. The 18-year-old's father discussed with news stations that he felt that added warnings on the pill would do no good in the end. There was also 676 other cases that showed certain side effects from the pill. Some of these women were just sick, but others had to be hospitalized.

Abortion is currently legal in the United States, but many states are in the process of trying to get this law changed. As of Nov. 16, 30 states were in talks to outlaw abortion. Although many are against abortion, many feel that it is a good alternative. People have pushed for the morning after pill to be available over-the-counter. This idea has not been passed, but as of now you can still receive the morning after pill with a doctor's appointment.

In the spring of 2004, there was a lot of talk going around that many Virginia College campuses would no longer make the morning after pill available. There were many riots and student representatives explaining why they felt that the ECP should remain available at student health centers across the state. The final decision was to continue distributing the pill from the student health centers.