Aus - Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommends abortion drug RU486 to PB

[poledriver]

Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommends abortion drug RU486 to PBS

FEDERAL Health Minister Tanya Plibersek says government subsidies for the controversial abortion drug RU486 won't lead to more terminations if it's added to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme.

In what Ms Plibersek described as an important first step, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee on Friday recommended Mifepristone (RU486) and another drug taken in conjunction, Misoprostol, be covered by the scheme.

In coming weeks the government will review factors such as cost and supply of the drugs that aid the medical termination of pregnancies up to 49 days. A final decision is due before the election.

"It's not my intention that this become a political football," Ms Plibersek told reporters in Sydney.

If approved, the two drugs would likely cost $5.90 each for concessional patients and $36.10 each for general patients, saving women hundreds of dollars.

Overseas studies showed their increased availability did not lead to an increase in terminations, despite the lower cost and relative ease of use compared to surgical interventions, Ms Plibersek said.

Both drugs have been on the World Health Organisation list of essential medicines for years and used by tens of million of women around the globe.

"Deciding to terminate a pregnancy is usually an extraordinarily difficult decision for a woman to make," the minister said.

"I think the notion that people will become more frivolous because of the introduction or availability of such drugs is just not borne out."

The Australian Greens called on Ms Plibersek to list the drugs as soon as possible, arguing that if Labor lost to the coalition in September a Tony Abbott-led government could restrict access.

But Mr Abbott said he would accept the advice of health experts on drugs such as RU486 if he was elected prime minister,

after having blocked access to the abortion pill when he was health minister in the former Howard coalition government.

"When I was in government, we invariably accepted the advice of our technical advisers," he told reporters in Adelaide.

"This is now before them and that would certainly be the way I would operate."

However, Ms Plibersek said there were legitimate questions to be asked about Mr Abbott's position.

"I guess it is possible that he's made a complete 180 degree turnaround on this issue," she said.

"People would question whether once he's made one complete 180 degree turnaround, whether he'll do another 180 degrees and end up back where he started."

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is against listing RU486 for ethical and health reasons, saying it would be wrong for "this just to be waved through".

"Women facing unsupported pregnancies should be offered real support - not a chemical which is harmful to both them and their unborn child," ACL spokesperson Wendy Francis said.

Another Christian group FamilyVoice Australia said RU486 would lead to other serious issues.

"The availability of a cheap abortion drug would encourage boyfriends, husbands and parents of pregnant women to coerce those women to abort," the group's research officer Ros Phillips said.

"Serious depression and suicide attempts are far more common in such women."


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/pa...bs/story-fnet08ck-1226629604312#ixzz2RheCBD62

With a video.

 

[poledriver]

$12 abortions possible within weeks as RU486 subsidy recommended

The abortion drug RU486 could be available within weeks for as little as $12 after the federal government's expert advisory body recommended that it be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, made up of medical experts and health economists, recommended listing mifepristone and misoprostol - the two drugs known together as RU486 - for termination of a pregnancy of up to 49 days' gestation.

The committee found the effectiveness of the drugs was similar to that of surgical termination, but was less costly.

Health Minister Tanya Plibersek welcomed the committee's recommendation, noting the drug was on the World Health Organisation's list of essential medicines and had been used successfully by tens of millions of women around the world.

She said the committee's recommendation was only a ''first step'' in listing the drug, but added she expected it to be listed ''sooner rather than later''.

''I would expect this process to take a few weeks. I would expect that a decision would be made before the election,'' she said.

Ms Plibersek said her department would need to ensure there was a steady and good quality supply of the drug and reach agreement on price before the government decided whether to list it.

If it was listed on the PBS, women would pay $36.10 for each of the two pills, while those with concessions would pay only $5.90 per pill. Currently, the drugs cost between $250 and $350, while surgical abortion generally costs between $300 and $500.

Ms Plibersek said listing the drugs would provide greater choice to women who could not afford abortion or who lived in country areas.

''Some women are travelling a day or two by bus and having to find money for overnight accommodation in a city,'' she said. ''If the drug is listed I would hope it would make an extremely difficult time in a woman's life a little bit easier.''

Asked about the drug before the committee's recommendation was made public, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he would accept the committee's advice.

''I understand that there are lots of people who are concerned to try to ensure that we have a humane society which deals decently with women who are in a very difficult position and I certainly have always said that the whole issue was to try to ensure that we empowered women, to try to ensure that we gave women in a very difficult position all the support they needed to make what was for them the best possible choice.''

Ms Plibersek she did not expect the listing of the drugs to lead to more abortions, but overseas experience suggested many women had chosen medical termination over surgical abortion.

She said the drugs caused strong cramping and heavy bleeding, but women who had used the drugs overseas reported appreciating the ability to take the second pill in the privacy of their own home, with the support of family.

The drugs usually cause miscarriage within 24 hours.

http://www.thevine.com.au/life/news/12-abortions-possible-within-weeks-as-ru486-subsidy-recommended/

 

[Flynnal]

If abortion is to be legal, at least it should be available to those who are least able to afford it. I won't argue the point on whether it should be legal or not even though I have my own views on what is right or wrong, they don't necessarily mean someone else has the same views.

Now that they've done this, they need to take the next step and completely decriminalize cannabis and allow people to buy it just like they do with cigarettes and alcohol. Then they need to allow terminally ill people to buy a lethal dose of Nembutal.

One could agree that if someone doesn't need anyone else's approval for an abortion then logic would imply that they don't need anyone else's approval to end their own lives either. The best way to do that is with Nembutal, but there are other drugs, doubtless, that would also work.

 

[poledriver]

Interesting point.