CANADIAN INVESTIGATION INTO RU-486 EXPERIMENT DEATH KEPT SECRET Officials at Health Canada have confirmed that the government has completed its investigation into the death of a Canadian woman after she participated in an RU-486 trial.
Dr. Ellen Wiebe, Vancouver abortionist who conducted the experiments with the deadly drugs, has been sent the results of the government information but, the government will not reveal the results to the public.
Tara Madigan, a spokesman for Health Canada said that while the investigation is complete the results are owned by the investigator – in this case Wiebe. With Wiebe being one of the foremost promoters of RU-486, observers are highly doubtful she will reveal any details from the government investigation. The only information Madigan could provide was to quote from a 4Sept01 already public original report on the death which listed it as caused by septic shock caused by a rare infection and not by exposure to the drug." See RU-486 victim never informed of risk http://www.lifesite.net/interim/2001/dec/01canadianru486.html
[Ottawa, LifeSiteNews.com, 5May03; 6May03 Pro-Life E-News www.lifesite.net/ldn/2003/may/03050501.html]
New Concerns About Abortion Drug, As Two Women Die — Two women taking RU-486, the abortion-inducing drug combination, have died, the drug maker says, and four others have become very ill. The news prompted pro-life groups to urge that the drug be taken off the market. According to a report in the Washington Post, Danco Laboratories, the maker of the drug marketed as Mifeprex, has sent a letter to doctors, telling them about the six women.
The letter, however, also says it's not known if RU-486 actually caused the deaths and illnesses.
According to the newspaper report, three women suffered bleeding caused by the rupture of ectopic (fallopian tube) pregnancies; one died. Two other women had serious bacterial infections; one of them died. The sixth patient had a heart attack three days after taking RU-486, but she recovered.
The letter Danco sent to doctors reminded them to report any serious problems in women who take the abortion drug. The FDA approved RU-486 as an abortion-inducer in September 2000, and at the time, pro-life groups warned of its dangers. [Christine Hall, CNSNews.com , 18Apr02]
CANADIAN WOMAN DIES FROM RU-486 –A woman who was enrolled in a test program on RU-486, the abortion pill, has died of complications. Her death has caused a cessation of tests in Canada. [Cybercast News Service: www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=Culturearchive200109CUL20010919a.html.]
- According to a recent survey, about 50% of National Abortion Federation abortion providers and 50% of Planned Parenthood affiliates offer the vast majority of all mifepristone (RU-486).
RU 486 Dangers Seen Firsthand by South African Doctors – Before the FDA gave its blessing in 9/00 to the abortion pill RU-486, the manufacturer of misoprostol, which is used in conjunction with RU-486 raised concerns. Misoprostol (Cytotec) was developed in order to treat ulcers.
Searle, which developed misoprostol, refused to sanction usage of its product for use in inducing abortions, citing its lack of safety for off-label use. Nevertheless, it is now being used and promoted to developing nations as an abortifacient. Professor Steffan Bergstrom heads a Swedish institute that promotes misoprostol in Africa for abortion. But even he has concerns.
Indeed, in South Africa the death toll of women from drug-induced abortion is growing. Dr. Albu van Eeden, a South African physician: "The use of this drug (misoprostol) has just got totally out of hand. It's being dished-out like Smartees at clinics." Van Eeden, a member of the group Doctors for Life, said the off-label use of misoprostol has reached crisis proportions and is causing a growing number of deaths from hemorrhage and uterine rupture due to its casual use. "This really caused an ethical dilemma for pro-life health professionals already, because these women come in bleeding and you are ethically obliged to attend to them," van Eeden said. "You can't just leave them. And so you end up, in the end, completing the abortion for the abortionist." [Focus on the Family; 21Feb01; Infonet]
- RU-486 — The arrival of the abortion pill RU 486 in Iowa brings more choices, confusion and convictions concerning abortion to the Iowa State University community. RU 486, which induces abortion by cutting off food and nutrition to the unborn child, has been legal in Europe and other countries for 12 years but only recently became available to the USA. In December, the drug was made available to Iowa residents.
- "Many people think you take a pill and the pregnancy magically disappears," said Karen Kubby, director of the Emma Goldman Clinic for Women abortion facility in Iowa City. "The removal of the fetus is only part of the process." The abortion pill works by "removing the fetus using drugs that cause a chemical reaction in the body," she said. If abortion does not occur, the fetus must be surgically removed, Kubby said. The drugs must be taken within the first 49 days of pregnancy to be effective…Chemical abortion is a lengthy process compared to a surgical abortion, which takes three to five minutes, Kubby said. Surgical abortions cost $305, $380 or $480, according to income. Abortions using Mifeprex cost $900 at Planned Parenthood, but some women qualify for up to 50 percent discounts, Dickey said. [Iowa State Daily; January 10, 2001; Infonet]
- Iowa Pro-Abortion Governor Signs Bill Limiting RU 486 at Iowa College Campuses [Des Moines Register; May 25, 2001; http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4780934/17000050.html]
- The pro-abortion magazine Mother Jones has
obtained FDA figures listing 30 cases of uterine rupture associated with the use of the drug Cytotec (misoprostol) to induce labor in expectant mothers. Even so, the FDA recently approved the RU 486 chemical abortion regimen that includes misuse of Cytotec in the abortion process [see above article]. In spite of the fact that Cytotec is only FDA approved for treating peptic ulcers rather than for inducing labor, it is now "the predominant agent of choice" for inducing labor [Dr. Charles Lockwood, chairman of obstetrical practices for ACOG]. Mother Jones contributing writer David Goodman reports that deaths resulting from the "off-label" use of Cytotec have become the subject of several lawsuits, including two in OR and others in TX and CT. After being named as a defendant in a Portland, OR, suit, the drug's manufacturer, G.D. Searle Corporation, sent a letter to 200,000 health care providers warning them that "Cytotec administration by any route is contraindicated in women who are pregnant because it can cause abortion." The drug is, in fact, used in combination with RU-486, for this specific purpose. According to one informal survey, reports Mother Jones, at least a third of hospitals have restricted the use of the drug because of health and safety concerns for women. [Why Life? Email letter]
- Searle, manufacturer of misoprostol ("Cytotec") has consistently opposed the use of Cytotec for labor induction and for abortion. In August, Searle sent letters to all US MDs reiterating its opposition to off-label uses and lists "serious adverse effects" such as "maternal and fetal death; uterine hyperstimulation, rupture or perforation requiring uterine surgical repair, hysterectomy / salpingo-oophorectomy; amniotic fluid embolism; severe vaginal bleeding, retained placenta, shock, fetal bradycardia and pelvic pain."" Searle’s patent expired in July 2000. The manufacturer of mifepristone (M/M), Danco Labs, plans to import mifepristone from China’s Hua Lian Pharmaceutical factory in Shanghai [Wall St Jrnl, 17 Sep; Washington Post 12 Oct], which with 2 other factories, supplies "about half of China’s annual 10 million abortions". Searle’s letter to doctors is posted on the Federal Drug Administration’s website, www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2000/cytote.htm . It appears there are "possible procedural irregularities in the FDA actions, manufacturer concerns and the drugs’ inherent dangers". [Life Insights, 6 Oct 00]
1997
RU 486 Will Bring Adverse Psychological Effects to Pregnant Women's Homes
[NOTE: A "medical abortion" usually involves two drugs: RU 486, or mifepristone (to kill the developing child), and misoprostol (a prostaglandin to cause uterine contractions). Since this article was written, many abortion researchers are experimenting with using misoprostol only, because it is easier to obtain and very inexpensive. However, produced originally for treating ulcers, it is obviously used "off-label" to cause abortions. The long-term effects of these drugs on the female body have not been investigated; the psychological effects are touched on in this article.]
[NOTE: A "medical abortion" usually involves two drugs: RU 486, or mifepristone (to kill the developing child), and misoprostol (a prostaglandin to cause uterine contractions). Since this article was written, many abortion researchers are experimenting with using misoprostol only, because it is easier to obtain and very inexpensive. However, produced originally for treating ulcers, it is obviously used "off-label" to cause abortions. The long-term effects of these drugs on the female body have not been investigated; the psychological effects are touched on in this article.]
Most everyone knows that the coming to America of RU 486 [read: mifepristone, Mifeprex] is changing the abortion industry. What's being missed is that RU 486 will also dramatically change abortion's psychological effect on women.
Vicki Thorn [exec dir, National Office of Post Abortion Reconciliation and Healing – clearinghouse for post-abortion research and information] says that a woman's home, where the abortion will take place about half the time, is likely to become an aversive place for her, just as many women avoid passing the abortion sites after their abortions.
Women who go out of their way to avoid traveling past a particular abortion site will find it difficult to avoid their own homes. And the fact that RU 486 is self-administered (the woman takes the action of swallowing the pills)will make matters worse. "We're going to have women having acute reactions" Thorn believes, because of the compounded feelings of guilt that will come from having been directly involved in the abortion.
When the FDA approved RU 486, these considerations were lost in the rush to satisfy radical women's groups that had pushed for approval. Supporters lauded the decision, saying it would make abortion more private and less intrusive for women.
Supporters said the drug would assure women's continued access to abortion. They looked at surveys that showed many doctors would not physically perform surgical abortions but who would "happily" precribe a drug to accomplish the deed. Since the single biggest threat to wide-spread abortion is the lack of doctors willing to do them, supporters of RU 486 see the drug playing a crucial role in keeping abortions widely available in all parts of the country.
It is all too soon to tell what all the consequences of RU 486 will be. Post-abortion experts are learning more about the drug as they gear up to help a new generation of women who will need to piece together a life after abortion.
About half of the women expel [read: abort] the tiny baby — RU 486 should only be used during the first 7 weeks of pregnancy up to the time the embryo is about 1/3 of an inch long, with a beating heart, and arms and legs — within 4 hours of taking the prostaglandin misoprostol. More than a third of women will expel the baby during the first day, probably at home. About a tenth of women will wait more than 24 hours to complete the abortion that started 3 days earlier. About 5 percent of women will eventually have to have a surgical abortion to remove the dead baby.
The procedure is so difficult that only 20 percent of women seeking abortions in France get a chemical one, even though RU 486 has been available there since 1988 and the price is comparable to a surgical abortion.
RU 486's problems concern even some advocates of legal abortions. Ava Torre-Bueno, a pro-abortion therapist and former Planned Parenthood abortion counselor in San Diego, says, "I can't imagine doing RU 486. The dragging out of this thing seems so awful to me."
Abortion counselors are realizing that the problem will be even worse if a woman changes her mind after taking the required first drug, but before taking the second drug necessary to complete the abortion. "That's going to be hell," Ms. Torre-Bueno says. [18January1997, World, Susan Olasky]
More information on the medical risks and dangers of RU 486
can be found in the Abortion section of the Ultimate Pro-Life Resource List at www.prolifeinfo.org
America's Crisis Pregnancy Helpline 1-800-672-2296