Your Input Is Invited To Deal With `old' Problem 
You Have An Appointment On July 22. It's At The Kingston Senior Center From 
1:30-3:30 P.m., And Your Presence Just Might Have Some Impact On The Future Of 
Our State And The Quality Of Your Life.

Andrew Jervis 
July 7, 1996 
Andrew A. Jervis, 85, Of Rr1, Factoryville, Died Sunday At Carpenter Care 
Center, Tunkhannock.

By RENITA FENNICK; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Tuesday, July 09, 1996 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





WILKES-BARRE -- A non-surgical abortion clinic slated to open here in a few
weeks reportedly plans to prescribe Methotrexate, a drug currently approved by
the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of cancer and arthritis only. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Even though the drug does not have FDA approval for use to induce
abortions, physicians may prescribe the drug to end early-term pregnancies
under a provision called "off-label usage," according to the American Medical
Association. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; And, national guidelines are being developed for doctors who intend to use
the drug for early-term abortions, according to the New York City physician,
who tested its use. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Methotrexate, combined with another drug, already is being used in some
abortion clinics to terminate pregnancies that are less than 63 days. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dr. Richard U. Hausknecht, an obstetrician/gynecologist at Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, New York, introduced Methotrexate as an abortion drug last
August in a New England Journal of Medicine report. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 FDA spokesman Larry Bachorick said Methotrexate is regarded as an
experimental abortion drug but acknowledged physicians have been legally using
it for early-term abortions. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "A physician can use any FDA-approved drug at his or her discretion for any
use," Bachorick said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Abortion rights groups herald the drug because, they say, it will allow
women to seek abortions without surgery and in the privacy of a doctor's
office. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But, use of Methotrexate for abortions has its opponents. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The drug company that patented Methotrexate said using the drug as an
abortion agent contradicts the manufacturer's objectives. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And, the Washington, D.C.-based National Right to Life Committee, Inc.,
said the failure to study the long-term effects of Methotrexate translates
into using women as guinea pigs. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's pathetic. There have been no long-term studies done on the effects of
this drug," said Michele Arocha Allen of the National Right to Life Committee. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "This is a very strong cancer drug. True women's health advocates would not
be doing this to women," Allen said. "You would think they would have learned
from the Dalkon shield and thalidomide." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Thalidomide was a sedative given to pregnant women in the 1940s through the
1960s. It later was blamed for numerous birth defects. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Dalkon shield, an intrauterine device used as a contraceptive, also was
blamed for injuries ranging from infertility to death. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Abortion providers from across the United States are scheduled to meet July
15 in Colorado for the second of three educational sessions on using
medication to terminate pregnancy, Vicki Saporta, executive director of the
National &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Abortion Federation, Washington, D.C., said last week. The meetings are
co-sponsored by the National Abortion Federation and the Planned Parenthood
Federation of America. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Saporta said the sessions are focused on the use of two drugs, Methotrexate
and mifepristone, to induce abortion to "make sure they are being performed in
the safest, possible way." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mifepristone, or RU486, is the French controversial abortion drug. It is
under consideration for approval by the FDA. Abortion providers are
anticipating its approval. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Saporta said some physicians across the country have been using
Methotrexate as an abortion drug. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Subject to restrictions &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Use of a drug to induce abortions would be subject to Pennsylvania
restrictions enacted in April 1994. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 State law requires doctors to counsel women on the risks and alternatives
to abortion, then wait 24 hours before performing one. Minors also are
required to get permission from a parent or judge. Clinics must offer patients
state-published booklets that describe fetal development and abortion
alternatives. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Methotrexate, originally patented by Lederle Laboratories, Pearl River,
N.Y., is being manufactured generically by several companies, according to
Audrey Ashby, spokeswoman for Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Radnor. Wyeth-Ayerst
acquired Lederle last year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We do not market or support research for any of our products to be used
for the early termination of pregnancy," Ashby said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Methotrexate is a life-saving therapeutic agent cleared by the FDA to
treat cancers, arthritis and psoriasis," she said. "Our package labeling
includes strong warnings that Methotrexate is not to be used by pregnant
women. This use is against our objectives." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An interstate abortion services provider acknowledged last week it plans to
offer non-surgical abortions at an undetermined site in Wilkes-Barre as early
as this month. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The report prompted verbal condemnations of the procedure by the
anti-abortion community, including Bishop James C. Timlin of the Scranton
Diocese and the Pennsylvanians for Human Life. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The procedure involves taking a combination of two drugs. The woman is
injected with Methotrexate which stops a pregnancy from proceeding by
interfering with the growth of DNA. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Several days later, the woman is required to take Misoprostol, a vaginal
suppository, which induces contractions and forces the expulsion of the fetus. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Follow-up crucial &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 One of the crucial requirements of the procedure is the follow-up
administration of the misoprostol and subsequent examination to ensure the
fetus has been aborted. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 An April 1996 report in Vogue magazine said "one particularly frightening
failure might be a live but deformed baby." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The article by Steve Fishman cited a report by San Francisco
obstetrician/gynecologist Bernard Z. Gore who gave a woman a dose of
Methotrexate. The woman did not return for the administration of misoprostol
and called 11 weeks later to say she was still pregnant. She underwent a
surgical abortion and Gore was told by the attending physician that the fetus
had been viable but its fingers were deformed. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Dr. Mitchell Creinin of the Magee-Women's Hospital, Pittsburgh, who has
studied drug-induced abortions using Methotrexate, said instances like the one
in San Francisco can be avoided. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "There has to be a good relationship between the woman and the doctor,"
Creinin said. "And that's why it's so important for doctors to be trained to
use it. Right now, there are only a handful of responsible physicians doing
this. You can't just read about a procedure and think you can do it." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A spokeswoman for the clinic said a drug-induced abortion costs $335, the
same price as a surgical abortion with general anesthesia performed when a
pregnancy is less than 12 weeks. A surgical abortion with a sedative is $265
when the fetus is less than 12 weeks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Hausknecht said that because Methotrexate no longer is covered by a patent,
"it can be obtained really cheap, for just a few dollars." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Abortion Clinic's Remedy `off-label' Although It Induces Abortion, Methotrexate Is Approved For Treatment Of Cancer And Arthritis Only, Says Fda