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Show Tuesday, September Doctor offers By CAROL JOUZAITIS - NEW YORK In a busy doctor's office on Manhattan's toney Upper East Side, the abortion drug has arrived. ut it's not d the pill that's used for abortions in Europe. Though clinical trials on 6 will begin in the United States this fall, the drug isn't expected to be approved for sale before However, an alternative method of abortion is quietly being tried here by a Park Avenue obstetrician who says he's tired of 6 to hit waiting for French-invente- 6, RU-48- 19. non-surgic- al RU-48- Ameri-canshore- s. Dr. Richard Hausknecht is performing abortions on women using two inexpensive prescription drugs already available in U.S. pharmacies, but not meant for abortions. And, contrary to accepted medical practice, he is doing so without permission from the Food and Drug Administration or sponsorship of a research institution. Some other doctors find what he's doing unethical and potentially dangerous, and federal regulators, who learned about his experi - But Hausknecht, a maverick and longtime abortion rights activist, defends his action on the grounds that politics and a conservative medical establishment have delayed use of the French pill here for too long. The grandfatherly, Hausknecht said he decided two months ago it was time to try the new procedure and prod reluctant colleagues to move faster on the self-describ- ed issue. "I was in a hurry to get going,' said Hausknecht, a faculty member at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. He said he has kept careful records on his patients and intends to publish his results soon in a medical journal. "When I get this published, it'll triple or quadruple the (research data)" on the technique, he said. "Most physicians coi'ld do this but they don't know about it." The drugs involved, methotrexate and misoprostol, cost less than $6 per patient and have been approved for a range of medical uses by the FDA, the agency responsible for reviewing drug safety. THE DAILY HERALD, Provo, Utah, The problem is, abortion isn't among the approved uses. But that didn't stop a determined Hausknecht, who drew patients for his research by advertising pregnancy terminations" in several New York-are- a newspapers in July. "This is a little bit uncharted," Hausknecht acknowledged during an interview in his office. But he declared: "Damn it, I'm not going to wait. This is a step forward. This is important. I want to see this available to women where it's not available now." About 700 callers responded to his ad, getting an answering machine in Hausknecht's office that, like the ad, did not identify the doctor. Hausknecht said he tried to maintain anonymity to avoid groups. "non-surgic- wood-panele- al d anti-aborti- on Most callers wanted more information about the procedure. Some were abortion opponents who left ugly threats and called him "baby-killer- " and other names. "We were flooded," said Haus- knecht, who has performed the procedure in his office on 126 women, mostly white and upper- - s, charging each a S650 fee. Because chemical abortion is effective only in early pregnancies, he limited the procedure to women middle-clas- less than nine weeks pregnant. And he required all patients to sign consent forms attesting that they'd been informed of the possible risks of an experimental procedure. Hausknecht said he found the procedure effective in more than 9 out of 10 cases with no apparent serious side effects. He said it was the most successful in women less than eight weeks pregnant. The others required surgery to complete the abortions. One patient who underwent the woman procedure, a who asked that her name not be used, said she previously had a surgical abortion. She said she pre- ferred the methotrexate method because it was less painful and traumatic and allow ed her to abort at home in a process that amounted d to a miscarriage. drug-induce- "What this guy (Hausknecht) is into, I want to shout to the world," said the woman, a business owner who lives in Greenwich Village. "It just resolves so many of the moral and political problems w ith abortion." Others, how ever, are less enthusiastic about Hausknecht's work. "It's very risky," said Sandra Waldman, spokeswoman for the d Population Council, a New scientific group. "I hope his malpractice insurance is paid up." "What he's doing is downright unethical," said Dr. Mitchell Creinin, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Creinin published the first study of methotrexate abortions in October 1993 after performing then on 10 patients at the University of California at San Francisco. "He's charging people to do an experiment on them," Creinin said. "He's shooting off the cuff. No respectable medical journal York-base- publish his results." Cy Romney, a professor emeritus at Albert Einstein Medical College in the Bronx, who has known Hausknecht for some years, said he was surprised to hear about his w ill experiment. "He has some excellent qualifications. He has struck out on his own, perhaps for good reason." But Romney added, "I'm not sure it's the best way in a conservative system." Methotrexate "could have severe dangers if used by less capable physicians before more is known about such abortions, Romney said. FDA Deputy Commissioner Mary Pendergast cautioned that because data is sketchy on the procedure, women and physicians should be cautious. On Friday, FDA officials told Hausknecht he should stop performing the abortions uniess he willy-nill- y' gets the backing of a medical ing service over the weekend until Chicago Tribune Monday morning. On Saturday, staffers will plow through eight hours of phone messages that have not been retrieved, and they will get ready for more of the deluge. Calls have come from as far away as Alaska and the Virgin Islands; those callers will be told that Winfrey's Families for a Better Life is just a pilot program for 100 families in Chicago. But about of the calls were from the Chicago area, said Blanco. Some called to inquire about volunteering or donating money. But the vast majority were looking for a way out. mother Watkins, a of two little girls, has lived in CHA developments all her life. "But I don't plan on making this a lifetime thing," she said. Though not working now, she said, "I would love to be able to support my kids off the money I would make ... without being on welfare, and paying my own way." That is the goal of Winfrey's program, which will provide more than just housing assistance. Starting by the end of the year with 10 families, it also will give them job training, health care, family and financial counseling and educational opportunities. CHICAGO - Oprah Winfrey's offer to help public housing residents escape their surroundings is no handout. The fortunate few who will qualify must make it through background k checks, an preparation course even drug tests. But for lifelong Chicago Housing Authority residents such as Lnda Watkins, no requirement would be too demanding. "I'd be willing to go through any test to make a better life for my kids," Watkins said as she sat in trie living room of her eighth-floapartment in the CHA's Ickes Homes. "I want it better for them multimillion-dolla- r eight-wee- or than I had." After Winfrey and the Jane Hull House Association announced recently that the talk show host was donating $30,000 a year Ad-da- to help each of 100 families leave public housing, the Linda Watkin-se- s of America made it clear just how desperate many families are to leave public housing. "This is providing the stories behind the statistics," said Isabel Blanco, vice president for planning and research at Hull House. "It puts a voice to the need. ... It also shatters the myth that people who are on welfare or in public housing want to stay there. "There are 30,000 people in three days who say, 'I want help.'" I Hull House staff members fielded that many calls following Winso many frey's announcement that they decided to shut down their computerized phone-answ- er MR three-quarte- rs Hull House staffers will have J Unli Li 1 1 II -- il 1 -- m HERE'S HOW 10 FLY FREE ON SOUTHWEST AIRLINES. Just buy a roundtrip ticket at our regular low FULLY REFUNDABLE unrestricted fere, and your traveling companion will plenty of good candidates from which to pick. The thousands who live in CHA developments will be mailed applications. get a roundtrip ticket on the same flights free You The Hull House staff will narrow the applications to about 50 based on need and other factors. along for free may be any age must be an adult, age 18 Tickets are fully refundable without penalty (both tickets must be returned). Seats for this offer or older. The friend you bring are limited and wont be available on some flights that operate during peak travel times. 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Though he previously resisted such oversight, he said he now welcomes the FDA's review and hoped to resume his research. He said he aiso planned to ask Planned Parenthood of New York and other physicians to help him expand the project. Though he said he believes the procedure is safe, Hausknecht acknowledged that there could be unknown side effects that won't show up until the procedure has been done on thousands of patients. Thousands call for help from Oprah's new housing program By FLYNN McROBERTS Page D3 abortions without official permission d ment recently, have warned him that he may have violated the law. Chicago Tribune RU-48- drug-induce- 20, 1994 When buying an airline ticket for business or pleasure your Diners Club card is always welcome It is the card to choose for transportation dining, and hotel accommodations around the world Fares do not include Passenger Facility Charges of up to J9 roundtrip. 1994 southwest Airlines |