Abortion pill
will cost more than
surgical procedure

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By Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com

A medical abortion with the pill RU-486, or mifepristone, will cost about $500 at Planned Parenthood of Hawaii, says Barry Raff, executive director.

That is $75 more than the cost of a surgical abortion at the clinic.

Raff said the three pills involved in a medical abortion cost $270. The rest of the fee will help to cover three visits to the clinic by the patient, a physician, staff counseling and other services.

Raff refuted a charge by Hawaii Right to Life Executive Director John Long that Planned Parenthood is offering the abortion pill to generate profits.

Long said the pill is "horrific" and may be more psychologically damaging to women than a surgical abortion.

Considering the physician, staff and pill costs involved in a medical abortion, Raff said, "We're obviously not in this to make a profit."

He said Planned Parenthood is offering medical abortions as an option to surgical abortions because they can be done much earlier in pregnancy.

The staff has been trained and ultrasound equipment installed to begin medical abortions when the medication arrives in a week or two, he said.

The state's QUEST program will cover medical abortions, as it does for surgical abortions, Raff said. He said the program loses money on the surgical procedure because of low reimbursements and he doesn't know what QUEST will pay for the Ru-486 procedure.

But he said, "We're fortunate in Hawaii that the QUEST program does pay for abortions, where it doesn't in many states." He believes Planned Parenthood is the first in Hawaii to offer RU-486, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last September for use in the United States.

Medical abortions have been performed here with another series of pills, and the RU-486 has been used for a dozen years in France, Raff said.

A woman opting for a medical abortion must make three visits to the clinic: the first to take the pill, the second to take a drug that causes uterine contractions to expel the embryo and the third in about two weeks to follow up on the abortion.

The federation reports that about 10 percent of women are choosing medical abortions when available, Raff said.