|
Abortion Pill Claims Another Life 9/23/2003 Alarming teen death reopens debate on RU-486.
The sudden death of 18-year-old Holly Patterson in California over complications from an abortion re-sparks debate over safety of the so-called abortion drug, RU-486. The young lady died Wednesday, one week after taking the drug prescribed to her by a Planned Parenthood office in the San Francisco Bay area.
Monty Patterson, still in shock over his daughter’s sudden death, called on the medical community to re-evaluate its procedures for use of this drug. The FDA approved RU-486, known as mifepristone, in September 2000, after the federal agency bypassed many of the safeguards typically afforded drugs.
While the Alameda County coroner's office is still investigating the cause of death, the evidence appears overwhelming that it resulted from complications from RU-486. Doctors told the Patterson family that fragments of the aborted baby still remained inside their daughter, causing an infection and sending her into septic shock. This is the third death reported to the FDA since it approved the drug for use in the United States. Numerous other reports have shown that women, after taking RU-486, have suffered from heart attacks, life-threatening blood clots and infection, excessive bleeding, nausea, dizziness and respiratory distress.
Many pro-life advocates have claimed that the FDA's approval ignored public health concerns. John Diggs, a Massachusetts internist, has long doubted the safety of this method of abortion. “Any drug like this that's causing those number of deaths under any other circumstances would be withdrawn or at least studied," he said. "But this one was pushed through under fast track, meaning that it bypassed all the usual studies and the time and the peer review to make sure that a drug is safe."
On August 20, 2002, Concerned Women for America (CWA), the Christian Medical Association, and the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists filed a Citizen Petition with the FDA. This legal document describes the threats to women’s health and the numerous procedural violations that occurred when the FDA considered the drug for approval. The Citizen Petition asks the FDA to halt all distribution and marketing of the drug.
Since the approval, the FDA has done little to check procedures used for this drug. Further, many abortion clinics ignore the FDA’s own guidelines for its use. Planned Parenthood in San Francisco currently prescribes the drug for use up to 63 days after the woman’s last period, two weeks longer than the FDA’s guidelines. The FDA also insists that the administration of misoprostol, the second drug used to complete the abortion, be administered under the care of a qualified medical practitioner. However, most women who obtain the drug from Planned Parenthood take it by themselves at home with little or no information about its dangers. Wendy Wright, senior policy director for CWA, cautioned, “Abortion clinics violate the FDA’s guidelines to save the clinics time and money. Clearly, women’s health and lives are secondary to their own convenience and profits.”
Planned Parenthood quickly responded to the situation in California on Thursday, claiming that it would look into the cause of death of Holly Patterson. A spokeswoman for the FDA said it would conduct an inquiry as well.
As Planned Parenthood and the FDA attempt to deal with their public relations nightmare, the tragic death of a healthy young woman remains. Monty Patterson, who unexpectedly spent Friday planning his daughter’s funeral, says that similar tragedies must be prevented. "I don't want to see another young, vibrant girl die," he said in the San Francisco Chronicle. " We should not have lost Holly, and we did."
James Kimball is an intern with Concerned Women for America. He attends Patrick Henry College in Virginia.
|
|
|
Concerned Women for America 1015 Fifteenth St. N.W., Suite 1100 Washington, D.C. 20005 Phone: (202) 488-7000 Fax: (202) 488-0806 |
Feedback / Questions? || Problem with this page? || Archives
