§ Lord Ashbourneasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many normal babies and how many babies with malformation have been born in the United Kingdom after their mother has taken the steroid RU486; and whether they are aware of any comparable statistic for foreign countries.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Baroness Hooper)There have been reports of five cases, out of a total usage of approximately 100,000 worldwide, where women have changed their mind and carried their pregnancy to term. All five (three in the UK and two in France) women delivered normal healthy babies. The three UK cases have been reported in theLancet of July 28th 1990, Volume 336, pages 257 to 258. A copy is available in the Library.
The company's data sheet, a copy of which is also available in the Library, makes it clear that treatment with Mifepristone (RU486) should be fully explained to and completely understood by the patient. Patients are informed that, in the event of the failure of Mifepristone (RU486), the pregnancy is liable to continue to develop and that the fetus may then be exposed to a risk of malformation. In the: vent of such failure, the termination of the pregnancy is carried out by another method.
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