State law prevents Student Health from giving RU-486

As colleges across the nation debate whether to distribute the so-called "abortion pill" on their campuses, officials at Penn Student Health Services say they will not be able to provide RU-486, despite its recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration. In a letter to physicians, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced that, in accordance with its Abortion Control Act, only facilities registered to provide abortions would be allowed to give the drug -- thereby excluding Student Health Services. Student Health, however, will continue to provide advice for women facing unwanted pregnancy and referrals to abortion providers, like the Philadelphia Women's Center, if necessary. Janice Asher, medical director of Women's Health Services, said she agreed with the Department of Health's decision and added that she usually would suggest other forms of abortion over the pill. "I am less enthusiastic about it for a Penn population... because we have excellent access to competent surgical-abortion providers," she said. "We don't have the facilities to provide for the complications." RU-486, also known as mifepristone, is taken within the first seven weeks of pregnancy, and works by blocking the hormone progesterone, which stops the development of the fetus. A second drug, misoprostol, is provided a few days later and causes the uterus to contract and expel the fetus, in a similar manner to that of a natural miscarriage. According to Summer, a counselor at the Philadelphia Women's Center who refused to give her last name, the miscarriage takes place in the woman's home and can be very painful. Anaesthesia is not available with RU-486, as it is when a surgical abortion is performed. Other side effects can include bleeding and cramping. One in 100 women end up needing surgery for heavy bleeding. The Philadelphia Women's Center, a for-profit organization that provides normal gynecological services and abortion procedures, charges $451 for a surgical abortion within the first seven weeks of pregnancy while RU-486 is $495. "A lot of people ask about the non-surgical," Summer said, "but once they find out about it they have the surgical." When asked abut the benefits of RU-486, Summer added "some of it is psychological because it's more like a natural miscarriage. It's also good for someone really worried about surgery." While insurance plans provided through Student Health cover abortions, they do not currently address RU-486. "We are in the middle of negotiating the insurance plan for next year," Student Health Director Evelyn Wiener said. "My hope is that we will be able to cover RU-486." She added that when speaking with the obstetrics and gynecology department at HUP in November, she was told they had begun talking about initiating a process for providing RU-486 under FDA guidelines. The HUP department was unavailable for comment. Yale University is the only school in the Ivy League known to provide the pill on-site. At this point, Columbia and Cornell universities have decided not to offer the drug and a decision is awaited at Harvard and Dartmouth. Princeton and Brown universities also do not have plans to offer RU-486.