Last week, Italy gave final approval to the sale of the abortion pill RU486. The pill will be available throughout the country in a few weeks but will only be administered at hospitals.
RU486, also known as Mifepristone, was discovered in 1980 by French Researchers. The pill terminates pregnancies up to 8 weeks along by blocking the hormone progesterone, which is needed for the pregnancy to continue, causing the uterine lining to shed and the baby to be expelled.
China was the first country to approve mifepristone for medical use in 1988, followed soon after by France. The US FDA approved the pill in September 2000. Italy is one of the last countries in Europe to license the pill.
Although it varies from country to country, the abortion pill accounts, on average, for about half of all early abortions.