Bishop's official urges halt to FDA approval of RU-486

Published: 2006-02-02

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Saying the abortion pill RU-486 not only ends the lives of the unborn but is also harmful to women, the U.S. bishops' pro-life spokeswoman praised legislation that aims to suspend the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug. Deirdre McQuade, director of planning and information for the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, spoke at a Washington press conference Feb. 1 sponsored by Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., and other congressional supporters of the legislation known as "Holly's Law." "Holly's Law is a very modest bill," said McQuade, noting that it only calls for temporary suspension of the FDA's approval of RU-486 so the U.S. comptroller general can review the FDA's adherence to statutory mandates in its process for approving the drug. Since its approval by the FDA in September 2000, RU-486 has been marketed in the United States under the names Mifeprex and Early Option by Danco Laboratories. Known generically as mifepristone, it induces an abortion in the first seven weeks of pregnancy when used in conjunction with another drug, a prostaglandin.

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