Almost ten years to the date after the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") approved the abortion drug, Mifeprex® (RU-486; mifepristone), two more medical abortion deaths have been announced by U.S. Centers for Disease Control Officials.
In a letter to the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine dated September 30, 2010, Dr. Elissa Meites et al., described two additional mifepristone-induced septic shock deaths. Both deaths were caused by c. sordellii, the bacteria linked to a number of RU-486 deaths from 2000-2006.
One woman who died was 29; the other was 21.
Monty Patterson, the father of Holly Patterson – an eighteen-year-old who died after using the mifepristone regimen, released a statement with these three concluding paragraphs:
It has been proposed by medical professionals that the properties of the mifepristone abortion pill can seriously impair or alter a women's immune system and predispose her to serious or fatal infections.
The 9 deaths from Clostridium sordellii can no longer be ignored, particularly at the regulatory level. The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health. They need to reevaluate the risk, safety and efficacy of the drug they approved 10 years ago.
Ultimately, women will have to make the final choice based on the most accurate information they can obtain. They need to question if the risks of medical abortion pills are really in the best interest of their health, safety and welfare. Women can make informed decisions when they have timely, reliable and truthful information.
Mr. Patterson is clearly correct, and FDA also needs to re-think its policies surrounding the release of its newest abortifacient and mifepristone-twin, Ella.
Contact: Chris Gacek
Date Published: October 1, 2010
