Both Sides Miss Whole Truth in RU-486 Debate

“We never again want to return to the days of back-alley abortions,” the pro-choice advocates assert. And with the FDA’s approval of the French abortion pill RU-486, there’s a chance that this fear has been put to rest. The method has been lauded by proponents as being a medical breakthrough for women’s rights. But with every right comes responsibility, a concept I believe America has yet to come to terms with.

For decades, women have fought and won several battles believing they have obtained reproductive freedom. It began with the birth control pill to prevent pregnancy, and now there’s a pill to end a pregnancy should the first one fail.

If you’re like me, you’re a little confused. Any mother understands the incredible physical and emotional burden that comes from pregnancy, either unwanted or planned. I thought the “revolution” of the pill was supposed to make the abortion issue a moot point.

I have always thought taking proper precautions to avoid getting pregnant in the first place was the priority of women seeking “control” over their own bodies. Yet, as we’ve found that prevention is unreliable, can we be certain that the RU-486 pill won’t also prove disappointing for those who rely on it? Well, we don’t know that yet.

What we have been told about RU-486 is that it has been tested and found safe for women. A doctor prescribes the dosage, with follow-up visits to assure the pregnancy has been properly terminated. This has the presentation of a neat and clean, and supposedly “easier,” abortion. No need to barge your way through an annoying crowd of protesters to go to a clinic. No unsettling surgical procedure that is invasive to the body. This miracle drug saves you from all of that. Or does it?

The safety of abortions always has been a concern for pro-choice advocates. There are provisions for monitoring by competent physicians, but I wonder whether young, inexperienced women taking the pill may be in for a big surprise when they later go home and experience what essentially is a self-induced miscarriage.

And we call this progress?

What really saddens me is that it appears that the medical community essentially has said, “Go home after taking the pill and do this by yourself, behind a closed door, so that we don’t have to be involved.” It’s a way of telling women, “This unwanted, unplanned pregnancy has become so unmanageable that we’ve basically lost interest in really helping you though this.” The convenience of RU-486 may in some ways let physicians off the hook because the abortion “problem” is no longer a surgical procedure. Just have the patient go home, and call you in the morning.

On the other hand, I’m not going to let pro-lifers, whose cause I also support, off the hook either. It seems they’ve been asleep at the wheel.

While their efforts to block the FDA approval are in no ways menial or without merit, I believe the real solution lies with an all-out attack on the myths about “choice.” Such myths include the harrowing experience of any abortion, the regret that can follow such a heart-wrenching decision, and the physical ordeal that a woman experiences.

Pro-lifers and religious groups have completely missed the boat when it comes to using the power of the media to favorably portray their cause. Notice how Hollywood regularly embraces pro-abortion positions and elevates them to celebrity status. Take the “The Cider House Rules,” which won two Oscars last spring. The film is mostly about an orphaned young doctor’s coming of age, but heralds two female characters whose abortions are portrayed as personal victories and emotional turning points for the story.

I believe members of the pro-life movement would be well-served creating their own niche in Hollywood. Seek out funding to produce movies and television that depict the positive sides of the anti-abortion argument. Let’s start destigmatizing the religious stereotypes and eye-glazing that comes with the mention of “abstinence” and “adoption.” Approach the hugely influential musicians who really resonate with young people to cut CDs about the perils of sex before marriage, rather than devoting so much energy to overturning Roe v. Wade. Get the teenage heartthrob all-boy band ‘N Sync to release a single called “Let’s Wait” and I guarantee you that virginity will be as sexy as pierced belly-buttons and hip-hugging pants.

For years both sides have argued repeatedly the philosophical questions such as when does life begin and does a woman have a “right” to an abortion. And while many might think a right to “choose” has been won, I’m wondering if they can embrace the enormous responsibility such a choice to terminate a pregnancy imposes.

Then there’s the best-kept secret that pro-lifers really need to sell to the MTVs and the MGMs of the country, which is the notion that the ultimate choice, the ultimate freedom, is not having to decide about abortion in the first place.