This is the first of a three-case series. In October 1988, members of the Board and CEO's (chief executive officers) of Roussel-Uclaf (one of the French leaders of the pharmaceutical industry) had to decide whether or not to put in the market RU 486, a pill that provokes abortion without use of surgical methods.

This is a French translation of the case?. This is the first of a three-case series. In October 1988, members of the Board and CEO's (chief executive officers) of Roussel-Uclaf (one of the French leaders of the pharmaceutical industry) had to decide whether or not to put in the market RU 486, a pill that provokes abortion without use of surgical methods.

This is a French translation of the case?. This is the first of a three-case series. In October 1988, members of the Board and CEO's (chief executive officers) of Roussel-Uclaf (one of the French leaders of the pharmaceutical industry) had to decide whether or not to put in the market RU 486, a pill that provokes abortion without use of surgical methods.

Case (C) describes the French experience with RU486 and the possibilities of making the product available worldwide and emphasises the problems that would arise should it be marketed in the United States, where abortion is a politically sensitive issue, and in the Third World, where the lack of medical facilities would pose a serious risk of the product being misused.

Case (B) describes subsequent events: Roussel-Uclaf decides to suspend distribution of the product. However, two days after the firm makes its decision public, the French Government intervenes and mandates the firm to reverse its decision.

In October 1988, members of the Board and CEOs of Roussel-Uclaf (one of the French leaders of the pharmaceutical industry) had to decide whether or not to put on the market RU486, a pill that provokes abortion without use of surgical methods.