Mifepristone (RU-486)

Dubbed the "French abortion pill" and the "month after pill", the pharmaceutical RU-486 hit the European scene like gangbusters in 1988, but was delayed for licensing in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration because of political pressure against abortions until September 2000. In France, where the drug was developed, about one third of all abortions are performed with the synthetic steroidal hormone.