The subcommittee heard from the French inventor of RU486, contraception researchers, and critics of the drug on the safety and effectiveness of RU486, the so-called abortion pill. RU486 is a drug that can be taken to cause an abortion during the first nine weeks of a pregnancy. It is also being tested as a possible treatment for breast cancer. Great Britain and France have approved the drug for general use. RU486 is not available in the United States, the drug’s manufacturer says, because of fears that anti-abortion groups would encourage a boycott against its products. Dr. Baulieu is the developer of RU486.