BFAD head open to entry of abortion pill into RP

CLARK FIELD, Pampanga – The head of Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) said yesterday he is likely to approve the entry into the country of the contraceptive RU-486 amid objections from various sectors, including the Catholic Church.

In a telephone interview with The STAR, BFAD chief Dr. William Torres described the pill as "safe," while stressing that it is not an abortifacient.

"It (RU-486) can be approved if they (manufacturers) apply (for entry into the local market)," Torres said.

But Torres said that like any other drug from abroad, it would take the BFAD about 90 days to finally approve the marketing of RU-486.

"A panel of consultants will have to evaluate the drug before it is made locally available. There will also be a five-year surveillance of the drug (after its approval for local use)," he added.

The other day, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said that women taking the RU-486 drug and similar pills will be considered automatically excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, spokesman for the CBCP, said that the RU-486, that was recently legalized in the United States, and other pills which induce abortion are prohibited under Church regulations.

Torres said RU-486 is actually not an abortifacient. "The drug prevents the implantation of the fertilized egg (by the male sperm)," he explained.

He said that because RU-486 does not result in abortion, it cannot be considered illegal unlike the drug known as "cybotec," scientifically known as misoprostal, which was initially introduced as an anti-ulcer medication.

"Cybotec was later used for abortions as it also triggered uterus contractions," he said.

During a forum on reproductive health sponsored here by the Women’s Features Service the other day, Dr. Rosalia Sciortino, program officer of the Ford Foundation, also insisted that RU-486 is not an abortifacient.

She said the drug is to be taken within 72 hours after sexual contact to prevent pregnancy.

Among those who also expressed opposition to the entry of RU-486 into the country were Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Sen. Francisco Tatad, who both stressed that abortion is illegal in the Philippines.

Earlier, Health Secretary Alberto Romualdez also debunked beliefs that RU-486 is an abortifacient, saying it could be allowed in the country.

Torres however said he has not yet received any proposal to introduce RU-486 here.

"If there are such pills in the Philippines, they were smuggled or brought in for personal use," he said, adding RU-486 brought in for personal use is allowed but it would be illegal to sell it until the BFAD has approved it for the local market.

Records showed that RU-486 was invented by French Dr. Etienne Emile Boulieu in 1980. Some 200,000 women worldwide have used the pill, mostly in the former Soviet Union, China and France.

Records also showed one casualty, a French woman who was noted to be a heavy smoker. Two more were noted to have developed cardiac arrest after taking RU-486 in Latvia, but they too were reportedly heavy smokers.