RU-486, the “abortion pill,” was approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration on Sept. 28. This drug, also called mifepristone, will give women an alternative to surgical abortion for a comparable price of around $300.

“It’s really sad that a woman could take a pill to abort a baby just as easily as to stop a cold,” said Angela Chierek, president of Saint Louis University Students for Life.

RU-486 works by first softening the uterus and loosening the embryo’s connection to the uteran wall.

After this first pill is taken, a second drug, misoprostol, is administered to cause contractions, which disconnect the embryo from the uterus.

The abortion pill is only effective up to seven weeks after conception. This seven-week window is part of an ongoing debate about the moment life actually begins.

Harry O’Rourke, campus minister for Peace and Social Justice, shares in the Roman Catholic Church’s belief that life begins at the moment of conception and that any form of abortion is immoral.

“There is an infinite amount of worth in every human life because God created us in His image and likeness,” O’Rourke said.

For women who support the right to choose, RU-486 is a major step in their direction. Instead of facing a mass of protestors outside of an abortion clinic, women now have the option of taking a pill from the privacy of their own doctor’s office.

To pro-life supporters, however, the approval of the pill is a major defeat.

Campus Minister Sister Jeanine DeClue, O.P., thinks that the abortion pill will simply make it easier for society to throw away life. She explained that the Church is compassionate about these types of decisions and offers many options other than abortion, such as counseling or financial aid.

“The Church’s ideal is to respect life in any form,” said DeClue. “No life is without meaning.”

She also said that society plays a role in the disregard of human life and emphasized the need for people to have “well-developed consciouses.”

Junior Sharonda Lewis is pro-choice, but does not support the abortion pill.

“It leaves the option for people to be careless with sexual activity,” Lewis said.

Although abortion would never be an option for her, Lewis believes that every woman should have the right to choose.

Lewis said, “It’s between you and God.”