The arrival of the abortion pill, Mifeprex, to Iowa brings more choices, confusion and convictions concerning abortion to the ISU community.Mifeprex, which induces abortion by interfering with the attachment of the fetus to the uterine wall, has been legal in Europe — where it is known as RU-486 — and other countries for 12 years but only recently become available to the United States. In December, the drug was made available to Iowa residents.”Women have been calling every day since it has been approved,” said Penny Dickey, vice president of health services for Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa. Dickey said her clinic gives the new abortion pill to several women every week.Abortion by the newly approved drug takes place in a series of steps. “Many people think you take a pill and the pregnancy magically disappears,” said Karen Kubby, executive director of the Emma Goldman Clinic for Women in Iowa City. “The removal of the fetus is only part of the process.”The abortion pill works by “removing the fetus using drugs that cause a chemical reaction in the body,” she said.Drug-induced abortion actually is accomplished using Mifeprex and Misoprostal, a drug that has been approved for a while, Dickey said.Mifeprex actually causes pregnancy interruption by changing a woman’s hormone balance so the fertilized eggs cannot adhere to the uterine wall. Patients may experience cramping, which helps to expel the pregnancy from the uterus, she said. Within four hours of taking the second drug, the pregnancy usually is expelled. If abortion does not occur, the fetus must be surgically removed, Kubby said.The drugs must be taken within the first 49 days of pregnancy to be effective, she said.Although medical abortion is a lengthy process compared to a surgical abortion which takes three to five minutes, Kubby said medical abortion could be a preferred method of abortion for many women. Medical abortion is more private, and could be viewed as a more natural process, because there is no intrusion of instruments, she said.”It looks like a miscarriage,” Kubby said. She said this may be helpful for women in abusive relationships or unsupporting families in which abortion is not acceptable. Members of the ISU community have mixed feelings concerning the recent availability of the pill.Abby Hansen, president of the ISU Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, an organization that strongly supports the legalization of the abortion pill, said it is great that Iowa women now have access to this drug. “It is excellent to have another choice out there,” said Hansen, junior in liberal studies.Others on campus disagree about the benefits of the drug.”[The abortion pill] promotes an irresponsible attitude toward protection of conception before you want it, which would only be appropriate under the protection of marriage,” said Lori Adams, associate director of Reformed Campus Ministries. “It violates the sanctity of life.”Some pro-life supporters said the legalization of the pill is a step in the wrong direction. “Any direct abortion is wrong because it is taking human life,” said John Donaghy, campus minister at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. “It is trying to find a quick way to deal with a major problem.”Cicely Schramm, vice president of the ISU Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, said she supports women’s right to choose in all forms.”A woman’s right to choose is important, and any way to make the chance to choose more accessible is a positive thing,” said Schramm, sophomore in genetics.Getting the drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was a battle.”We are happy to finally have a choice in the U.S. that has been available to the rest of the world for 12 years,” Kubby said. “The U.S. was not easy, and its approval came with many conditions. It is a very scrutinized drug.” While the FDA took only three months to approve Viagra, it took 12 years for them to approve Mifeprex, she said.Most drugs can be prescribed by any doctor — from a dermatologist to a family practitioner — but Mifeprex only can be prescribed by a gynecologist with an ultrasound and the ability to provide or refer surgical backup should the abortion not occur using the drug, Kubby said. This stipulation and others are the result of the strong values and political views surrounding abortion in the United States, she said.When Mifeprex is used within 49 days of pregnancy, it has been shown to be 92 to 95 percent effective and costs the same as a surgical abortion, Kubby said. Surgical abortions are $305, $380, or $480, depending on income. Abortions using Mifeprex cost $900 at Planned Parenthood, but some women qualify for up to 50 percent discounts, Dickey said.”Nobody loves the fact that women have abortions,” Hansen said. “But women do have the right to choose what they do with their bodies.”