Pro-lifers: Stronger RU 486 warnings not enough
- Nov 30, 2004 - comment
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is putting stronger warnings on the abortion drug RU 486, but pro-life advocates say the action is insufficient. So does the father of a teen-ager who died after taking the drug.
The FDA announced Nov. 15 it was expanding the “boxed warning” for Mifeprex, the trade name for mifepristone, also known as RU 486. Mifeprex’s “boxed” label, which constitutes the highest level of warning on a FDA-approved drug, says “[s]erious and sometimes fatal infections and bleeding occur very rarely” after abortions, including those from the use of RU 486.
The federal agency also revealed a third woman had died after using the abortion drug. The most recent fatality was reported to the FDA in August, according to an agency spokesman. A 22-year-old woman, whose name was undisclosed and who was seven weeks pregnant, died of an apparent systemic infection.
Previously, two deaths following the use of the abortion drug had been reported. Last year, Holly Patterson, 18, died of a systemic infection in September after obtaining RU 486 from a Planned Parenthood clinic in Hayward, Calif. In October 2001, a 38-year-old woman, whose identity was undisclosed, died from a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
Monty Patterson, Holly’s father, called for more from the FDA.
“How many more deaths is it going to take before the FDA takes action to remove this drug from the market?” he told The New York Times, according to LifeNews.com. “I’m not convinced this drug is safe, and I still think it should be banned.”
Wendy Wright, senior policy director of Concerned Women for America, said, “When women’s lives are at stake, this is unacceptable.”
RU 486 causes the lining of the uterus to release the embryonic child. RU 486 normally is used in the first seven weeks of pregnancy. A second drug, a prostaglandin, is taken two days after RU 486 and causes the uterus to contract, expelling the baby.
Congress failed to vote this year on legislation to suspend approval of RU 486 pending a review of the FDA’s process in certifying the abortion drug for use in this country. The RU 486 Suspension and Review Act is expected to be promoted again in the coming session.