the generic name for the French abortion pill. It is used in combination with misoprostol.
Clinical testing of mifepristone as a means of inducing medical abortion began in France in 1982. Results from these trials showed that when used as a single agent, mifepristone induced a complete abortion in up to 80% of women up to 49 days' gestation. By adding small doses of a prostaglandin analogue a few days later to stimulate uterine contractions, investigators discovered that they could induce a complete medical abortion in nearly 100 percent of women.
An anticancer drug that blocks the action of progesterone, a hormone that affects the growth of some cancers.
Mifepristone is a synthetic steroid compound used as a pharmaceutical. It is used as an abortifacient in the first two months of pregnancy, and in smaller doses as an emergency contraceptive. During early trials, it was known as RU-486, its designation at the Roussel Uclaf company, which designed the drug.