Efforts made to regulate RU-486

A pair of lawmakers representing Jay County are in the thick of an effort to set new limits on RU-486, an abortion-inducing drug.
“We’re working together on a controversial measure,” State Sen. Travis Holdman (R-District 19) said Saturday at a “Third House Session” with State Rep. Bill Davis (R-District 33).
Senate Bill 282, sponsored by Holdman, specifies that only a qualified physician can administer an abortion-inducing drug.
“We need to have a little more control,” said Holdman. “There are no regulations on chemical abortions in Indiana currently.” He said RU-486 can now be administered by a nurse or pharmacist and is also available over the Internet. “They are allowing these drugs to be taken much later.”
The bill also requires a doctor to follow up on adverse effects of administering the drug and to keep a record of those events. If passed into law, failure to comply would be a Class A misdemeanor. If the bill clears the Senate, it would go to the House Public Policy Committee chaired by Davis.
“They will come out of the woodwork against the two of us,” said Holdman. “But there will be a law passed. … We’re going to get it done this year.”
Davis said improving patient safety is the purpose of the bill, but pro-choice opponents of the bill believe it’s simply an effort to further curtail access to abortion in Indiana.
Sold in the U.S. under the name Mifepristone, RU-486, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to terminate pregnancies up to 49 days gestation.


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