2 more women die after using abortion pill

WASHINGTON — Two more women have died after using the abortion pill RU-486, federal health regulators said Friday, in warning doctors to watch for a rare but deadly infection implicated in earlier deaths.

At least seven U.S. women have died after taking the pill, sold since 2000. The Food and Drug Administration cannot prove the drug was to blame in any of the cases.

In a cluster of four cases in California, the women died from an infection of the bloodstream, or sepsis. Those women did not follow FDA-approved instructions for the pill-triggered abortion, which requires swallowing three tablets of one drug, followed by two of another two days later.

Instead of swallowing the final two tablets, the second course of pills was inserted vaginally in the four women, a so-called “off-label” use of the drug that studies show works and is widely recommended by abortion clinics but does not have federal approval.

The FDA has not confirmed the cause of the latest two deaths. But the symptoms appear to match those seen in the California cases, as do the circumstances, an FDA spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman declined to be identified, saying she could not speak publicly about the issue.

RU-486 is also called Mifeprex or mifepristone. It is sold by Danco Laboratories and is approved to terminate pregnancy up to 49 days after the beginning of the last menstrual cycle. It blocks a hormone required to sustain a pregnancy. When followed two days later by another medicine, misoprostol, to induce contractions, the pregnancy is terminated.

The FDA previously has said the abortion pill remains safe enough to stay on the market. The rate of sepsis is about 1 in 100,000 uses, comparable to infection risks with surgical abortions and childbirth.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/031706dnnatabort.3471bf10.html
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I remember the 14 year old girl I went to junior high school with who died giving herself an abortion with a knitting needle. It wasn't written up in the paper, though.

BillyGoatGruff said:

I remember the 14 year old girl I went to junior high school with who died giving herself an abortion with a knitting needle. It wasn't written up in the paper, though.

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ouch!!!!!!!!!!!!

became the law of the land, may I suggest getting a copy of the book
"Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex-But Were Afraid To Ask".
There is an entire chapter of stories regarding "back street" abortion clinics, women who tried to self-abort, and the deaths and maimings that were the result of the unavailability of legal, safe abortions. I shudder to think of young women who, if our current President has his way via the Supreme Court, may be forced to revert to these barbaric circumstances to end an unwanted pregnancy.

NO medical procedure, no matter what type, is completely without risk-if medical practitioners are out there using RU 486 in a manner NOT APPROVED by the FDA-then the law should be brought to bear on these people in full force! :behindbar

I pass a planned parenthood twice a week on my way to school. Lately there have been protesters there holding signs with the most disgusting images of aborted fetuses. I am pro life, but I find these signs disgusting. If I had my children with me I would be really pi$$ed. I understand their hearts are in the right place, but this goes too far.

We need education for women on birth control I really don't feel that abortion should be a form of BC. :banghead:

gardenmom said:

I pass a planned parenthood twice a week on my way to school. Lately there have been protesters there holding signs with the most disgusting images of aborted fetuses. I am pro life, but I find these signs disgusting. If I had my children with me I would be really pi$$ed. I understand their hearts are in the right place, but this goes too far.

We need education for women on birth control I really don't feel that abortion should be a form of BC. :banghead:

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I really get upset about the protesters that hang out at the clinics, etc. I so agree with you that abortion shouldn't be a form of birth control, but I do believe women should have a choice if they find themselves in a situation that they cannot deal with. I can't imagine carrying a child that was conceived during a rape or by incest. Also, if a method of birth control didn't work and I felt that I couldn't deal with another child, I want a choice, and I want my loved ones to have a choice when it comes to what is right for them (daughters, sisters and friends). I personally couldn't and wouldn't consent to a late term abortion, but I do believe abortion in the early stage of pregnancy should be an option for those who have to make that decision. There are just way too many unwanted children in this world already. I know, some are going to say carry the child and put it up for adoption--well, that isn't always the best thing either, read the stories in up to the minute and crimes in the news about parents abusing their adoptive children--unwanted children just don't have a chance sometimes.

Good grief. Why on earth would those women think that they had to insert the final two tablets? They didn't get very good instructions on what to do. This is no better than what happened to a relative of mine years ago when birth control was just becoming available. The old country doctor just gave the tablets to her and she thought she was supposed to insert them too and got sepsis and died like these girls. My daughters are all pro life but I always told them that if they messed up or something happened unprotected, go to the ER and get that morning after pill.

txsvicki said:

Good grief. Why on earth would those women think that they had to insert the final two tablets? They didn't get very good instructions on what to do. This is no better than what happened to a relative of mine years ago when birth control was just becoming available. The old country doctor just gave the tablets to her and she thought she was supposed to insert them too and got sepsis and died like these girls. My daughters are all pro life but I always told them that if they messed up or something happened unprotected, go to the ER and get that morning after pill.

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Many sites say to insert them vaginally....I assume they were told to.

At your first appointment at the clinic, an ultrasound is performed to confirm you are less than 8 weeks pregnant. You then speak with an experienced counselor who explains how mifepristone and misoprostol work and makes sure you get answers to all of your questions. Your health history is carefully reviewed and if you meet the criteria, the doctor will give you the mifepristone to take orally. You are also given one bottle containing four tablets of misoprostol. Insert the first dosage of four misoprostol tablets vaginally between 24 to 72 hours after taking mifepristone. If this first dosage fails to induce a miscarriage, please call the clinic to receive instructions on the insertion of your back-up misoprostol tablets.

http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/medical-ab.htm

Rattling around in the back of my mind is the question also about the FDA rushing this to market which happens all too often (e.g., Vioxx, other such meds now in class action lawsuits) with certain manufacturers of this drug. I wonder if they are safe in the first place - not to say it's not human error in either the way it's prescribed to be taken or taken incorrectly by the patient. Just another spin on the topic...

L/E

gardenmom said:

I pass a planned parenthood twice a week on my way to school. Lately there have been protesters there holding signs with the most disgusting images of aborted fetuses. I am pro life, but I find these signs disgusting. If I had my children with me I would be really pi$$ed. I understand their hearts are in the right place, but this goes too far.

We need education for women on birth control I really don't feel that abortion should be a form of BC. :banghead:

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The types of protesters you're talking about don't believe in any form of contraceptive/birth control at all.

Sassygerl said:

Many sites say to insert them vaginally....I assume they were told to.

At your first appointment at the clinic, an ultrasound is performed to confirm you are less than 8 weeks pregnant. You then speak with an experienced counselor who explains how mifepristone and misoprostol work and makes sure you get answers to all of your questions. Your health history is carefully reviewed and if you meet the criteria, the doctor will give you the mifepristone to take orally. You are also given one bottle containing four tablets of misoprostol. Insert the first dosage of four misoprostol tablets vaginally between 24 to 72 hours after taking mifepristone. If this first dosage fails to induce a miscarriage, please call the clinic to receive instructions on the insertion of your back-up misoprostol tablets.

http://www.fwhc.org/abortion/medical-ab.htm

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Oh okay. The first post here says that it's an "off label" practice and not federally approved but many abortion clinics recommend. I wonder if taking the pills by mouth doesn't always work. Looks like the clinics could be sued for recommending something that is not approved.

Misoprostol (also known as Cytotec) was originally, and still used to prevent gastric ulcers in those people who must take such things as aspririn daily, especially for those who are prone to ulcers. However, in obstetrics, it has been used for years to "ripen" the cervix in labor induction. It softens the cervix and makes it more favorable for induction. HOWEVER, it is placed IN the cervix, and the patients are very closely monitored, as some patients do not tolerate it well. I don't know if placing it vaginally vs. cervically would make a difference in how a woman's body might react to it, but I would think not. These women who have died from its use could well be ones who would not tolerate it for labor induction.

gardenmom said:

I pass a planned parenthood twice a week on my way to school. Lately there have been protesters there holding signs with the most disgusting images of aborted fetuses. I am pro life, but I find these signs disgusting. If I had my children with me I would be really pi$$ed. I understand their hearts are in the right place, but this goes too far.

We need education for women on birth control I really don't feel that abortion should be a form of BC. :banghead:

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I agree, I am pro-life too but nobody wants to see pictues like that.

txsvicki said:

Good grief. Why on earth would those women think that they had to insert the final two tablets? They didn't get very good instructions on what to do. This is no better than what happened to a relative of mine years ago when birth control was just becoming available. The old country doctor just gave the tablets to her and she thought she was supposed to insert them too and got sepsis and died like these girls. My daughters are all pro life but I always told them that if they messed up or something happened unprotected, go to the ER and get that morning after pill.

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My cousin and her DH had a wild night of unprotection , and she went and got the morning after pill.....

RU-486 has been used for many, many years in Europe without significant difficulties. Heck there has been more problems with RX drugs used to treat other conditions then with this drug. With all drugs, there is a risk of adverse reactions and or side effects. So I really think this is the "the sky is falling" situation where the prolifers want to use this to further ban it use.

It has been available in France since 1988. It was only because of he politics and "religious" right that it took so long to come to the USA.

So women have been using it in Europe for the last 18 years..........

michelle said:

My cousin and her DH had a wild night of unprotection , and she went and got the morning after pill.....

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I had a friend that every time she had unprotected sex, she would go get the morning after pill. Sorry, but I gotta say it, "what an idiot". :doh:

Michelle....I wasn't talking about your cousin, either. Sorry if that kind of came out that way.

I have to contribute to this thread because Holly Patterson (one of the few deaths) was local to my area and I have information that is not readily out there. Her father is spreading a campaign of disinformation in the attempt to get RU-486 banned.:razz:

1) Holly took the drug vaginally. Results might have been different if she had taken it orally.

2) Holly lied. To the ER, which she only told them she had the flu, so they didn't know to check for other symptoms, and to her father, whom she obviously didn't feel she could confide an unplanned pregnancy, because he acts like such an *advertiser censored**hole! They sent her home thinking she had the flu.

The stats of women dying from this drug are extremely rare. It is a safe way to get around the garbage that's going on in South Dakota where women will practically be forced to have babies. Whether you think abortion is the right solution for you personally, don't take the choice away from the rest of us. Most women do NOT use abortion as a form of birth control.

LinasK said:

I have to contribute to this thread because Holly Patterson (one of the few deaths) was local to my area and I have information that is not readily out there. Her father is spreading a campaign of disinformation in the attempt to get RU-486 banned.:razz:

1) Holly took the drug vaginally. Results might have been different if she had taken it orally.

2) Holly lied. To the ER, which she only told them she had the flu, so they didn't know to check for other symptoms, and to her father, whom she obviously didn't feel she could confide an unplanned pregnancy, because he acts like such an *advertiser censored**hole! They sent her home thinking she had the flu.

The stats of women dying from this drug are extremely rare. It is a safe way to get around the garbage that's going on in South Dakota where women will practically be forced to have babies. Whether you think abortion is the right solution for you personally, don't take the choice away from the rest of us. Most women do NOT use abortion as a form of birth control.

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Souns like her dad is trying to deal with his own feelings of guilt by projecting them onto someone/something else. It must be a horrible thing to know your child is so afraid of you that they would rather die than tell you the truth.

BillyGoatGruff said:

Souns like her dad is trying to deal with his own feelings of guilt by projecting them onto someone/something else. It must be a horrible thing to know your child is so afraid of you that they would rather die than tell you the truth.

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Exactly, he's also initiated a lawsuit against the hospital that treated her. I'm well acquainted with this particular Emergency Room, and many of the docs there don't think outside of the box, but Holly apparently didn't inform them that she had taken RU-486 for an abortion, so they didn't think to check for septic shock- her cause of death.