CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : 900 Number Urges Abortion Pill Tests

Californians who want the state to allow research on a controversial French drug that induces abortions can dial a 900 number to show their support. Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco) said that for a $5.95 call, form letters will be sent to four state legislators in support of her resolution to legalize research and testing of RU-486, dubbed the “French abortion pill.” Speier said the fee for the call, which appears on monthly phone bills, covers administrative costs for the campaign. “This is not just a form letter. It’s someone saying, ‘I’m putting my money behind this,’ ” Speier said. “We owe it to Americans to test this drug. Politics of information has no place in a doctor’s office and has no place in a research lab,” she said. In 1983, researchers at USC began testing the drug on more than 300 women. But legislators halted further research under pressure from anti-abortion groups, Speier said.