Weak choice: The abortion pill.

• Author: Rimensnyder, Sara
• Position: Citings - Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation survey on Mifepristone use - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

ONE YEAR AFTER the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the abortion pill Mifeprix, better known as RU-486, the Kaiser Family Foundation has released numbers regarding its actual availability to American women.

In a national survey sample, only 6 percent of gynecologists and a mere 1 percent of general practice physicians offer Mifeprix abortions. The largest group of those doctors--roughly 40 percent--say it's because they don't approve of abortion. Others cite lack of demand, fear of violent reprisal, political controversy, logistical problems, and a lack of interest in providing abortions of any kind.

While that's no crisis for reproductive rights, it does mean that abortion clinics currently remain the primary locale for the procedure--and high-profile targets for pro-life activists. (Fifty percent of...