To use RU-486 for an abortion, a pregnant woman will have to pay three visits to her doctor over a two-week period.
During the first visit, she’ll take RU-486, chemically known as mifepristone, which acts against the hormone progesterone to prevent the embryo from adhering to the wall of the uterus.
Two days later, she returns to the doctor’s office to take another medication, misoprostol, which induces uterine contractions – to ensure that the fetus is expelled.
Twelve days later, she sees the doctor to make sure that the pregnancy has been terminated.
The procedure – also called medical abortion – can be conducted only during the first seven weeks of pregnancy.
Among the expected side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and chills.
Studies have found that mifepristone is 92 to 95 percent effective in causing abortion.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that 1 percent of women who have had the procedure suffer serious bleeding that requires surgery or a transfusion.