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ABC News Examines Link Between Lack Of Abortion Access, Misoprostol Use

Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com

19.08.2010     Restrictions on abortion coverage under the federal health reform law (PL 111-148) could further marginalize immigrant and poor women's access to reproductive care and legal abortion, ABC News reports. Unable to afford a safe, medically supervised abortion, some low-income women turn to self-induced abortion using misoprostol, which is FDA-approved to treat stomach ulcers and is widely used around the world to prevent postpartum hemorrhaging. The drug, sold in the U.S. as Cytotec, is prescribed in combination with mifepristone to provide medical abortion services. When taken in sequence, mifepristone and misoprostol are 95% to 97% effective at ending pregnancy, while misoprostol taken alone is 80% to 85% effective and believed to cause birth defects if it fails.

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