RU486 ban lifted in Australia

Members of Australian Parliament have effectively removed the ban on RU486, ensuring the first possibility of country-wide access to the pill that puts reproductive control back in the hands of women. As always, women in parliament were critical to this political and personal victory: The bill was sponsored by a cross-party group of female senators made up of Australian Democrats leader Lyn Allison, Liberal Judith Troeth, National Fiona Nash and Labor's Clare Moore. Senator Allison, who admitted she had an abortion, said women now had more options when it came to the difficult decision of termination. While the bill doesn't mean that RU486 will be available immediately, it opens up the possibility for a woman to obtain the drug from her doctor--something Australian women were previously unable to do--until wider access occurs. A doctor or pharmaceutical company will have to apply to the TGA for permission to use the drug. Senator Allison was confident Australian women would be able to access RU486 in less than a year.