Taiwan's Department of Health (DOH,
DOH director-general Lee Ming-liang (李明亮) yesterday said that the pill was approved to prevent women from taking the drug on their own, risking excessive bleeding and other dangers.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
According to Lee, thousands of Taiwanese women, most of them teenagers, have illegally obtained the pill from drug stores or the Internet. "Legalizing the drug offered women an alternative form of abortion," Lee said, "and urged doctors to abide by the regulations."
According to DOH regulations, the French-imported RU-486 pill, called Mifepristone (
Meanwhile, patients would be required to have a medical checkup 36 to 48 hours after taking the pill, during which they would have to take a second drug which causes the uterus to expel the embryo.
"Medical supervision is necessary to ensure safe use of the drug," Lee said. Two Taiwan women died and about 1,000 were treated for side-effects from using the drug last year.
In Asia, only Taiwan and China have approved use of RU-486.
According to the DOH, companies involved in the import and distribution of RU-486 must register with authorities. The pill, which was first introduced in France 12 years ago, has been available on Taiwan's black market for several years, and recently on the Internet where the three initial pills cost between NT$4,800 to NT$6,000, local media said.
The pill only costs about NT$500 in a public hospital.
The government has yet to say what steps it will take to prevent illegal sales of the drug. Meanwhile, Lai Shu-mei (賴淑美), head of the Bureau of National Health Insurance (中央健保局), said yesterday the government will pay NT$1,500 for each patient who takes the pill on a doctor's prescription.
More than 42,000 abortions were performed under the national health program last year. However, Secretary-general of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Association Su Tsung-hsien (
SECURITY: Taipei presses the US for arms supplies, saying the arms sales are not only a reflection of the US security commitment to Taiwan but also serve as a mutual deterrent against regional threats Taiwan is committed to preserving the cross-strait “status quo” and contributing to regional peace and stability, the Presidential Office said yesterday. “It is an undeniable fact that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent democratic nation,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) reiterated, adding that Beijing has no right to claim sovereignty over Taiwan. The statements came after US President Donald Trump warned against Taiwanese independence. Trump wrapped up a state visit to Beijing on Friday, during which Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had pressed him not to support Taiwan. Taiwan depends heavily on US security backing to deter China from carrying
The subsidiary of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in Kumamoto, Japan, turned a profit in the first quarter of this year, marking the first time the first fab of the unit has become profitable since mass production started at the end of 2024. According to the contract chipmaker’s financial statement released on Friday, Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc (JASM), a joint venture running the fab in Kumamoto, posted NT$951 million (US$30.19 million) in profit in the January-to-March period, compared with a loss of NT$1.39 billion in the previous quarter, and a loss of NT$3.25 billion in the first quarter of
RESOLUTE BACKING: Two Republican senators are planning to introduce legislation that would impose immediate sanctions on China if it attempts to invade Taiwan US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday reaffirmed US congressional support for Taiwan, saying the US and “all freedom-loving people” have a stake in preventing China from seizing Taiwan by force. Johnson made the remarks in an interview with Fox News Sunday on US President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last week. In an interview that aired on Friday on Fox News, just as Trump wrapped up a high-stakes visit to China, he said he has yet to green-light a new US$14 billion arms package to Taiwan and that it “depends on China.” “It’s a very good
US President Donald Trump yesterday said he would speak to President William Lai (賴清德) as his administration considers whether to move ahead with a US$14 billion weapons sale to Taiwan — a potential arms deal that has drawn criticism from China. “Well, I’ll speak to him. I speak to everybody,” Trump told reporters yesterday when asked if he had any plans to call his counterpart, although he did not offer a time frame for when such a conversation could take place. Trump previously said he would speak to the person “that’s running Taiwan,” without specifying who he meant. “We have that situation very
RSS