What is the status of the prostaglandin used in conjunction with RU486?
The FDA has mandated that the prostaglandin misoprostol should be used in the second stage of the RU486/PG chemical abortion, 93 even though this use contradicts instructions on misoprostol’s FDA sanctioned label. The prostaglandin misoprostol is sold by pharmaceutical maker R.G. Searle, now part of Pharmacia, under the trade name Cytotec. Searle brought Cytotec to the market in 1988 as a special anti-ulcer medication for those, such as those suffering from arthritis, who take a lot of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin. Searle’s FDA approved label, from the beginning, has stated that the drug is contraindicated for, or not to be used by, pregnant women because of its capacity to induce miscarriage.94 In a 1993 letter to the Wall Street Journal, Searle said directly that it did not want its product used with RU486 for abortion, a position it has never, as far as is known, publicly altered.95 When the FDA approved RU486, however, in September of 2000, it spe
