Christian groups opposed to abortion are concerned that an abortion-inducing drug called RU486 may soon become a lot cheaper.

A meeting of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Commission in March will determine whether to publically fund RU486. This would make the drug available for around $12, much less than the current cost of $300, according to the Australian Christian Lobby.

“RU486 is just another way of aborting babies. Ms Plibersek’s comments welcoming public funding and a wider availability of this abortion-inducing drug are deeply concerning,” ACL spokesperson Wendy Francis said.

Right to Life Australia is also opposed. “The application by the Marie Stopes International Abortion Industry for Australians to subsidize the abortion drug RU486 furthers the culture of death in Australia,” claimed Dr Katrina Haller, Senior Executive Officer of Right to Life Australia .

“The drug has claimed one woman’s life in Australia already”.

“RU486 is responsible for the deaths of at least eight women in the United States,” she said.  “It is not safe for women and is always fatal to the unborn child. RU486 is a human pesticide.”

DR Megan Best, author of “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” , a 2012 book about the ethics of birth and human life, makes the case against RU486:

“Firstly it is a drug which was developed specifically to terminate a pregnancy, an act which violates to the Biblical teaching that all human life is made in the image of God and is therefore to be valued.  For detailed argument, please see my book ‘Fearfully and wonderfully made’ (linked above).  The arguments about the specific actions of RU486 are on pages 164-5.

“Secondly, with easier availability of RU486 it is likely to be used more often, therefore replacing surgical abortion to some extent.  This means that more women will be exposed to the dangers of this drug, which include physical side-effects ( including known fatalities from its use) and the psychological effects of an abortion which sometimes occurs after the woman has returned home, leaving her to cope with the body.  We do not yet fully know that long-term consequences of this.

“Thirdly, women who undergo a termination procedure often feel that they have not real choice, that in fact there are not sufficient societal supports available for them to continue a pregnancy when those around them to do not want them to.  Christians would like to see more funding used to support these women in continuing the pregnancy, by giving them somewhere to live and help in having the child, rather than make abortion more widely available.

“Therefore, on grounds that it is a drug designed for a purpose which christians oppose, and represents risks to those who use it, and diverts potential funding from supporting pregnant women in crisis, Christians oppose this use of public funds to make RU486 cheaper.”

RU486, also known as Mifepristone, is used for medical abortions in the early months of pregnancy. The owner of RU486 rights has an interesting corporate structure: Exelgyn S.A., is a single-product company immune to anti-abortion boycotts spun off by its former owner, Hoechst AG.

RU486 was approved in Australia in 2006, and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) last year approved the importation of the drug by MS Health, a subsidiary of Marie Stopes International, the group now pushing for public funding.