Abortion rules apply to RU-486 pill, state attorney recommends
By BONNA de la CRUZ
Staff Writer
Teen-age girls must get parental permission or a court's consent before a doctor can give
them the ''abortion pill'' RU-486, according to an opinion issued yesterday by the state
attorney general.
Attorney General Paul Summers said RU-486 can fit the definition of abortion under
Tennessee law and thus requires the same parental-consent requirements for minors as
surgical abortions.
The opinion was not surprising to two Tennessee clinics that already require consent for
minors, or to the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, which opposes restrictions
to abortions.
Hedy Weinberg, executive director of the Tennessee ACLU, said legislative interest in the
drug is a preview of the battle that will be staged in many states.
While it's still unclear what Tennessee may do, Weinberg said some states may try an
outright ban of the medication, which is being marketed in the United States as Mifeprex.
A proposed ban is pending in Oklahoma, she said.
Other states will try to place burdensome restrictions on physicians authorized to
administer it, she said.
Attorney general opinions do not carry the weight of law but have influence over policy.
The opinion was requested by state Sen. David Fowler, R-Signal Mountain, an abortion foe.
''Doctors need to be aware if they're handing out the drug, or if school systems someday
distribute the pill, that there could be some exposure without consent,'' Fowler said.
Fowler said last night he has no plans to try to further regulate RU-486 with legislation.
Minors are required by Tennessee law to have a parent's permission to get an abortion, but
they can use a process called ''judicial bypass'' and ask a juvenile court judge for
permission.
Provisions in the abortion law found to be unconstitutional last year by the Tennessee
Supreme Court, including a two-day waiting period and mandatory counseling, would apply to
Mifeprex if they hadn't been overturned, Fowler said.
He is sponsoring a resolution that would allow voters to restore abortion restrictions
through a constitutional amendment.
Only two clinics in Tennessee dispense Mifeprex, according to Jill Patterson, director of
counseling at Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health, one of the clinics.
Both are in Knoxville and have been requiring parental consent or a judge's order before
prescribing the drug to minors.
In September the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug for termination of
early pregnancy. It is not available in pharmacies and is not legally available over the
Internet, the FDA said.
It is distributed only by New York-based Danco Laboratories directly to qualified doctors
who can accurately determine how far a pregnancy has progressed. The physicians also must
be able to handle complications, including incomplete abortions or severe bleeding, or
make other arrangements for emergency care.
The Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health has dispensed the medication to about 20
women since it started offering it in January, Patterson said, adding that one minor, who
was accompanied by her mother to the clinic, bought the drug.
The medication, which requires several office visits, is more expensive than a surgical
abortion. At the Knoxville Center for Reproductive Health, Mifeprex costs $575, while
surgical abortions in the first trimester cost $400, Patterson said.
''Women have been really pleased with the results. We're seeing women from four to five
hours away who are motivated to use this option, and we're glad to offer it to them.''
At Volunteer Women's Medical Clinic in Knoxville, fewer than 100 patients have expressed
interest in Mifeprex, clinician Heather Robinson said.
The legal opinion only addressed Milfeprex and not the ''morning after'' pill, which is
designed to prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse, rather than to abort a fetus.
Source: http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/01/03/03271780.shtml