Reaction Split on RU-486 Ruling

Sept. 29 -- Democratic and Republican political leaders had widely divergent reactions to the Food and Drug Administration’s decision Thursday to make mifepristone, the RU-486 abortion pill, available for commercial use.

“I am pleased with the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to approve mifepristone,” said Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic presidential nominee, in a statement released to reporters.

Gore noted the FDA had determined RU-486 to be “safe and effective,” and added, “Today’s decision is not about politics, but the health and safety of American women and a woman’s fundamental right to choose.”

But Gore’s Republican rival, George W. Bush, indicated disapproval of the ruling.

“I think the FDA’s decision to approve the abortion pill RU-486 is wrong,” said Bush in a statement released by his campaign. “People on both sides of the abortion issue can agree that we should do everything we can to reduce the number of abortions, and I fear that making this abortion pill widespread will make abortions more and more common, rather than more and more rare.”

Gore favors abortion rights, while Bush has long opposed them, except for cases of rape, incest, or where the mother’s life is in jeopardy. The GOP nominee has also voiced support for a ban on late-term abortions.

Congress and White House Weigh In

On Capitol Hill, Republican leaders denounced the FDA’s decision to legalize the pill in stronger terms. House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, targeted the Clinton administration for the move.

“The president said he wanted to make abortion ‘legal, safe, and rare,’” DeLay told reporters on Capitol Hill, citing President Clinton’s familiar refrain on abortion rights. But the ruling, DeLay claimed, would make abortion “convenient” and “unsafe.”

DeLay also called Clinton a “pro-abortion president.”