By Susan Price
BRISBANE — The Women's Abortion Campaign held a forum here at City Hall on April 30, to explore the pros and cons of RU486, the "abortion pill".
Unna Liddy, community development worker for Children By Choice, spoke on behalf of WAC. Dr Helen Kerr, medical officer at the University of Queensland Health Service, presented the case for RU486. Dr Renate Klein, Swiss-born neurobiologist and co-
author of RU486: Misconceptions, Myths and Morals, and Dr Jocelynne Scutt, barrister and well-known author of many works on feminist theory, both spoke against the abortion pill.
Although there are no plans at present to release RU486 onto the market in Australia, it is widely used in France and Britain.
Unna Liddy dispelled the myth of "easy access" to abortion services in Queensland, an argument often used by both ALP politicians and the far right, to avoid repealing the laws or to further restrict services.
The barriers to abortion services include geography. For example, in north Queensland the two abortion clinics operate only four days a week. Country towns may have no access to pregnancy testing or contraception and non-judgmental pregnancy counselling.
Psycho-social barriers are traditions which deny women control over their fertility, discriminate against women in prisons or other institutions and discriminate against minority women.
The cost is enough to eliminate abortion as an option for many women: $120 more than the Medicare rebate in Brisbane, and even more in regional areas.
Brisbane's newest abortion clinic was recently evicted from its premises across the road from the Royal Brisbane Hospital by the City Council for allegedly violating zoning laws. Though the other businesses occupying the same building are also in contravention, they have not been forced to relocate. One of these is the Queensland Department of Health.
Liddy pointed out that vasectomy has until now been outlawed in Queensland, although the procedure has been commonly performed. In the recent Criminal Code review, attorney general Deane Wells directed the commission to repeal the laws governing vasectomy, but not to touch the Â鶹´«Ã½ dealing with abortion.
She concluded by emphasising the need for struggle to repeal the abortion laws in Queensland, and not to settle for mere reform.
"We need free-standing, non-profit women's health centres which cater for the complete range of women's reproductive health services based on feminist principles."
Dr Kerr, in presenting the case for RU486, stated that more than 200,000 women die each year from illegal abortions and that well over 50 million abortions are performed worldwide each year.
She said the controversy surrounding RU486 and prostaglandin was the result of the strength of the far right, which has labelled it "the death pill".
However, Kerr pointed out, there are legitimate concerns for the safety of RU486 and prostaglandin.
In France, 20% of women seeking abortions opt for RU486 and prostaglandin. This is available up to seven weeks from the first day of the last menstrual period. In England, it is available up to nine weeks.
The process is similar to spontaneous miscarriage, and many find the effects uncomfortable but acceptable. Women must be kept under strict medical supervision and require a follow-up visit to check on the success of the procedure. In 4% of cases, a surgical abortion is necessary to remove unexpelled tissue. Pain relief is often required. A quarter to a third of women experience nausea, diarrhoea or vomiting. One per cent require urgent surgery. But according to Kerr, the bleeding accompanying the abortion is much like a heavy period.
Kerr argued that the option allowed women to avoid anaesthetics and the invasiveness of surgical abortion, regaining a sense of control.
In April 1991, the first death occurred as a result of the procedure. A 37-year-old woman died of a heart attack. She was a heavy smoker and was in her 14th pregnancy. According to Kerr, the death rate from legal surgical abortion is similar. However, health authorities in Britain and France reduced the maximum eligible age to 35 and are limiting the procedure to women who are light or non-smokers.
Kerr concluded by saying that RU486 is by no means a perfect option, and that there needs to be research into new methods of pregnancy termination.
Dr Renate Klein claimed that recent pictures of pro-choice activists in the United States holding placards demanding "RU486 now!" are the result of a situation where access
to abortion is limited, and it becomes easy to look for a "softer" option.
Klein said that there had been only 12 months of basic research performed on RU486. It was trialed on women in Geneva before being released onto the French market (the home of Roussell-Uclaf, its developer).
During its development, it was discovered that RU486 has only a 60 to 80% success rate if used on its own. Eventually, it was suggested that RU486 be teamed up with prostaglandin, which had been used in the 1970s as an alternative to conventional abortion until it was abandoned because it led to gross accidents and severe pain. Since then, it seems "all is forgotten", according to Klein.
Denying that RU486 gives women greater freedom, Klein outlined the strict supervision women must undergo. "It uses women as guinea pigs", she said.
"Given that there exists a safe means of abortion, we don't need this drug, which is dangerous to women and jeopardises their future health."
RU486 works only up to 49-63 days after a period. It cannot be administered to women over 35 or those who smoke. It is unavailable to women under 18, or who suffer allergies. On women who weigh more than average, the pill is not as effective. A woman is excluded if she uses the contraceptive pill or an IUD, or if she has a history of heart, liver or kidney conditions. The drug is also known to affect the adrenal glands.
The long-term consequences include the possibility of fertility impairment.
"RU486 doesn't de-medicalise abortion, it re-medicalises it. The procedure is drawn out over two weeks, and 5 to 7% of women have to undergo surgical abortion anyway."
Klein concluded, "We need to continue to lobby for safe, compassionate abortion services, not for some second-rate chemical which might well backfire for women."
Jocelynne Scutt said that the appearance of RU486 on the Australian market would not render the fight for repeal of abortion laws redundant.
The situation for women in Australia had been characterised by governments giving concessions on the one hand, but withholding rights on the other. She said that this is often due to the fact that women are characterised as likely to change our minds, as full of contradictions, irrational and in need of guidance by the
rational legal system.
Scutt warned of the dangers of opting for reform of the abortion laws, as has happened in South Australia and the Northern Territory. There the laws restrict access. In the Northern Territory, a woman under the age of 16 cannot have a legal abortion, which, Scutt said, is ironic considering a woman's capacity to become pregnant begins at the onset of puberty.
[A review of RU486: Misconceptions, Myths and Morals appears on page 22.]