Washington D.C., Jan 23, 2008 / 02:37 am
Though recent reports indicate a drop in the abortion rate, the use of the abortion pill RU-486 is on the rise, the Washington Post reports.
The French drug mifepristone, RU-486, has been in the American market since 2000. RU-486-induced abortions have been rising by 22 percent a year and now account for 14 percent of the total. They account for one in five abortions performed by the ninth week of pregnancy.
The pill has helped slow the decline of abortion providers as more physicians who did not perform abortions now prescribe the pill.
One doctor in Albuquerque, New Mexico said she does not use the pill at one of her offices, while at another she provides the pill along with surgical abortions. At a third clinic, she provides only the pill.