Women in China, Cuba and India have found mifepristone (formerly known as RU 486) to be a safe, effective and acceptable method of abortion, according to a newly released study. This study, conducted by the Population Council, is the first to assess the efficacy and acceptability of medical abortion to women in developing countries and the first large-scale study comparing medical to surgical abortion.

The study included 1,373 women in six urban clinics. During the trial, women seeking abortions were asked to choose between surgical and medical abortion. In all three countries, more women chose medical over surgical abortion. The majority of women were satisfied or highly satisfied with their abortion experience, regardless of the method. Enthusiasm for the medical abortion method was particularly high. In India, for example, 96% of women who underwent the medical abortion procedure said they would choose the same method again.

"Medical abortion is a revolutionary technique. It is safe, efficacious, and highly desired by and acceptable to women in developing countries," reported researchers Doctors Beverly Winikoff, Irving Sivin and colleagues in the February issue of American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. After months of negotiations and litigation, a new company, called Advances for Choice, has been established to market mifepristone in the United States and eventually worldwide. This company will take over the distribution rights previously awarded to businessman Joseph Pike. Advances for Health Technology (AHT), the non-profit group which was set up to do education and training on mifepristone, sought Pike's removal from the project after learning that Pike had been disbarred in North Carolina and had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor forgery charge. Advances for Health Technology and the Population Council filed a lawsuit against Pike in October in U.S. District Court in New York.

The new firm will be headed by Jack Van Hulst, a former executive at Akzo, a Dutch pharmaceutical company, and will be located in New York City. The firm will assume the mission and responsibilities previously assigned to Advances in Health Technology, which has now been dissolved. Dr. Susan Allen served as AHT's President; Feminist Majority Foundation Eleanor Smeal served on AHT's Board and Executive Committee.

See the Feminist Majority Foundation's information on medical abortion.