RU486

Paper Summary:

A review of the purpose of RU486 with which a steroid hormone similar to naturally occurring progesterone is therapeutically applied to induce an abortion. This paper looks at the controversy surrounding this drug and the manner in which it could be used. The paper also examines the reasons why it is administrated and the potential side-effects.

From the Paper:

"In 1980, a French scientist, Dr. Etienne-Emile Baulieu made medical history. His landmark discovery would become almost as monumental in the field of human reproductive control as the hormonal oral contraceptive was decades earlier. Dr. Baulieu found that a steroid hormone similar to naturally occurring progesterone could be therapeutically applied to induce an abortion. This synthetic hormone, known as mifepristone, was thoroughly researched by the French pharmaceutical company Roussel-Uclaf. Mifepristone, despite being chemically similar to progesterone, actually acts to block the action of that hormone. Thus, RU 486 is known as an "antiprogestin," or a progesterone antagonist, because it counteracts the effects of progesterone. RU 486 binds to progesterone receptors in the woman's uterus, blocking the normal functions of the hormone in establishing and maintaining a pregnancy. As the drug interacts with the progesterone receptors, the lining of the uterus sheds as it does in menstruation, causing bleeding and eventual abortion. Moreover, RU 486 dilates the cervix and induces contractions, which help to dislodge the embryo. However, RU 486 must be combined with a dose of prostaglandin for the abortion to be complete; the action for the mifepristone itself is not enough. Since clinical trials of RU 486 have been conducted by scientists in over twenty countries, and the drug has been approved in many parts of Europe and in the United States, RU 486 can be rightly considered a medical breakthrough."

More papers on RU486:

• Analytical Essay # 30176 : "Abortion and RU486"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: