A Pill for Abortions May Not Change Much

By MICHAEL D. LEMONICK

After years of controversy, RU-486, the so-called French abortion pill, is finally being delivered to U.S. doctors this week after approval in September by the FDA. But that doesn't mean abortions will suddenly be easier to get: the drug can actually be nastier than a surgical abortion.

Beyond that, antiabortion crusaders plan to harass pharmacological abortionists just as they do the old-fashioned kind. After being kicked off the Web by six different Internet providers, for example, activist NEAL HORSLEY is back online with his "RU-486 Registry" website, which, among other things, will be listing the names of doctors who dispense the drug. Horsley's websites have been criticized in the past for inciting violence: Buffalo, N.Y., abortion provider Dr. Barnett Slepian was on a Horsley list when he was murdered in 1998. Not guilty, says Horsley. All he does is "write factually verifiable information about [doctors'] evil deeds." A great comfort, no doubt, to those threatened.

--By Michael D. Lemonick