From Tracee Cornforth,
Your Guide to Women's Health.
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Is RU 486, the abortion pill, a great health care advance for women? Does it provide an easier way for women to obtain an abortion? What really happens to a woman and her body when she chooses a pharmaceutical abortion? How do other women feel about the approval of RU 486? Will this cause more teenagers to have unprotected sex and become pregnant? Here's how some visitors to the Women's Health Forums feel...

Freedom For Women

"I believe this is a tremendous step towards my freedom as a woman. I think this is an alternative to surgical abortion. I believe a woman should have choices and alternatives, to be able to make a very hard decision in her life. I feel that we, as women, are the ONLY ones who have a right to say what we do with our bodies. If we make the wrong choice, then that is something as an individual we have to live with. But no one has the right to make that decision for me..."
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Pill of Murder

"I think this is terrible. I call it the Pill of Murder, because in my mind that is what it is. There is plenty of protection on the market to prevent a woman from getting pregnant and it should be used. There are also plenty of couples that can't have children that want one and should have a chance to adopt. How can a woman live with herself after knowing that she murdered a baby?"
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Happy About Approval

"I'm happy about this approval of RU-486. I had learned of its existence in Europe while in university and wondered why it hadn't been approved yet for use here. Decisions regarding an abortion are difficult to make. I feel a woman has the authority to make the decision since she will ultimately be the one who cares for that life and whether or not she is mentally prepared to take on such a large task."
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A Painful Experience

"I have actually had this, I live in England and had to go through this as the National health service didn't give me the choice. I would not recommend this to anyone. It was the most painful and traumatic experience I have ever had to go through. It was so painful the whole process lasted nearly five hours and I felt like I was in labor. I was violently sick and this awful experience still lives with me today. I would not recommend anyone opt to have this done if the have the option."
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No Unwanted Children

"European countries have shown no increase in the number of abortions with their use of this pill. I believe that better birth control and teaching young people to respect their own bodies and the consequences of their actions are the most important pieces of this problem. I work with families and children and what we DON'T NEED IS ANYMORE UNWANTED CHILDREN ON THIS PLANET. That is what it comes down to for me. I chose to have an abortion as a young woman and I went on with my life and now have a great family. It was the right decision for me - I did not have the maturity to deal with a child nor to give it up for adoption..."
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It's Taking A Life

"There are other methods of birth control that can be used before or during sex to prevent pregnancy. Besides there are natural birth control methods that work. If anyone is truly concerned about getting pregnant, they should be willing to take precautions before sex as an option. I believe in prevention or abstinence. After sex it is no longer prevention. I just do not believe in taking another life because of someone's mistake. And I do believe it's taking a life. "
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