Abortion Pill Might Not Be Available to All Canadian Women

The approval of the abortion pill in Canada reportedly does not automatically imply that all women in the country will be able to obtain the drug.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The approval of the abortion pill (RU-486) in Canada does not automatically imply that all women in the country wishing to terminate their pregnancies will be able to obtain the drug, The Globe and Mail newspaper reports.

On Thursday, Canadian authorities approved the abortion pill, also known as mifepristone, saying it would be available to women who obtain a prescription from a doctor.

However, according to The Globe and Mail, in at least one Canadian province, Ontario, doctors will be able to abstain from prescribing RU-486, "with rules not yet updated in some other provinces."

The abortion pill is currently available in nearly 60 countries. Canadian authorities had been reviewing the drug for approval since 2012.

The Globe and Mail said on Thursday that RU-486, which will be sold under the brand name "Mifegymiso," could be available in Canada as early as next winter.

The pill is used to terminate a pregnancy at between seven and nine weeks. It blocks a woman’s body from producing the progesterone hormone needed to sustain a pregnancy thus forcing the uterus to contract and expel the placenta and the fetus.

France was the first country where the abortion pill became available in 1988. The United States and Russia both approved the drug in 2000.